Nature Reserve in Mount Mutis
The Nature Reserve in Mount Mutis is one of the mainstay attractions owned by the Province of East Nusa Tenggara. This tourist area famous for its marble rocks that local people call Faut Kanaf or stone name. Under Faut Kanaf, there are sources of springs called Oe Kanaf or water from a stone. Water sourced from the Kanaf Faut flows toward a single point and form the two watersheds (Watershed), which by the society called the DAS and the DAS Noelmina Benain. These areas are the lifeblood of the West Middle East to this day. Tourist area which is about 140 km northeast of Kupang has an area of approximately 12,000 hectares and is inhabited by one of the oldest tribes in East Nusa Tenggara, the Tribe of Dawan.
Been to the Mount Mutis Mutis Nature Reserve tourism area was very interesting. Million of flora and fauna living in them. Mountain Mutis Tourism Area has a type of vegetation that is representative homogeneous upland forest. This area is also dominated by various types of ampupu (Eucalyptus urophylla) that grow naturally and the type of sandalwood (Santalum album). Also here can encountered various other tree species such as hue (Eucalyptus alba), bijaema (elacocarpus petiolata), haubesi (Olea paniculata), cocoa or mountain pine (casuarina equisetifolia), manuk Molo (decaspermum fruticosum), and oben (eugenia littorale).
There are also types of plants such as salalu (Podocarpus rumphii), natwon (decaspermum glaucescens), natbona (pittospermum timorensis), kunbone (asophylla glaucescens), tune (Podocarpus imbricata), natom (daphniphylum glauceccens), kunkaikole (veecinium ef. Varingifolium) , tastasi (Vitex negundo). Then there is also manmana (croton caudatus), mismolo (Maesa latifolia), kismolo (toddalia asiatica), pipsau (harissonia perforated), matoi (omalanthus populneu), and various kinds of ferns and grasses.
Beside rich with flora, Mutis tourist areas also store a variety of fauna typical of the island of Timor. In this area, visitors can witness the Timor deer (Cervus timorensis), rat-rat (Phalanger orientalis), boar (sus vitatus), monitor lizard (Varanus salvator), timor monitor lizard (Varanus timorensis). In this area there are also timor python (python timorensis), jungle fowl (Gallus-Gallus), pigeon timor (treon psittacea), parakeet timor (apromictus jonguilaceus), pergam timor (ducula cineracea), and yellow chest perkici (Trichoglosus haematodus).
Other interesting sights to be seen is how the native tribes in the region this tour for a living. By leveraging the branches and twigs of trees, the locals make the forest home of the bees producing honey. Of honey bees this forest, the public can expect a lot to sustain its economic life, apart from livestock and agriculture.
