
Overview
01Overview
Kutai Kartanegara Regency (; abbreviated as ), previously known as the Kutai Regency until 2002, is a regency of East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. It has a land area of 27,891.13 km2 and a water area of 4,097 km2, geographically located between 1°18′40″S and 116°31′36″E. The population of the regency was 626,286 at the 2010 Census and 729,382 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2025 was 845,621. The town of Tenggarong is the capital of the regency.
The regency includes the middle and lower reaches of the Mahakam River, the longest river in East Kalimantan, including its extensive delta. The city of Samarinda is situated on the river, about 48 km (30 miles) from its mouth; it is an administrative enclave within the regency, which thus contains much of the metropolitan area of Samarinda.
In 2019, President Joko Widodo proclaimed that the new national capital of Indonesia would be built in an area partly in the Kutai Kartanegara Regency and partly in the adjacent Penajam North Paser Regency and that the construction process would set off around 2024.
History
01History
Kutai Kartanegara Regency lies in the historical region of Kutai, home to the first and oldest Hindu kingdom of Indonesia, the Kutai Martadipura Kingdom founded in the 4th century CE by King Kudungga.
The second-largest extent of Kutai Regency, between 1987 and 1999 Between 3 January 1953 until 21 January 1960, this area was known as the Special Region of Kutai, the last political iteration of the Sultanate of Kutai. Following its dissolution (de jure on 26 June 1959), it was subsequently split into three entities: Balikpapan, Samarinda, and its remainder, known as the Kutai Regency. Since then, it has been governed by civilian officials instead of the sultanate family. Kutai remained the largest regency by area in its province and additionally shared an international border with the Kapit Division (Sarawak, Malaysia) until 4 October 1999; when the regencies of East Kutai, West Kutai, and Bontang city were formed out of the regency.
On 23 March 2002, it was officially renamed to its present name, the Kutai Kartanegara Regency, following the release of a decree regarding that matter by the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) of Kutai Regency on 26 June 2001.
Geography
01Lakes
The Regency includes some 16 notable lakes drained by the Mahakam River, of which the largest are Lake Jempang (Danau Jempang, with a surface area of 124.36 km2), Lake Semayang (Danau Semayang, 104.56 km2) and Lake Melintang (Danau Melintang, 87.96 km2).
02Bukit Bangkirai rainforest
Bukit Bangkirai (Bangkirai Hill) is a 1,500-hectare natural tropical located about 58 kilometres (around 45 minutes by car) from the city of Balikpapan. Plants of the family Dipterocarpaceae dominate in the area, especially Bangkirai trees (Shorea laevis of the genus Shorea) growing to 40–50 metres in height. There are over 120 bird species as well as gibbons (Müller's Bornean gibbon), macaque monkeys (Southern pig-tailed macaques, Crab-eating macaques), Maroon leaf monkeys, Banded pigs, and Banggai crows. Black Orchids (Coelogyne pandurata), among 45 kinds of orchids, are endemic to Bukit Bangkirai.
To visit the forest, visitors can walk along a 64-metre canopy bridge that connects five big Bangkirai trees 30 metres above the ground.