Handil Birayang Bawah – a settlement in Kabupaten Tanah Laut, South Borneo
Handil Birayang Bawah is a smaller settlement in Kalimantan Selatan (South Kalimantan) province in Indonesia, located in the southern part of Borneo island. Administratively, it belongs to the Kecamatan Bumi Makmur district and within that to Kabupaten Tanah Laut. Based on its coordinates (-3.5549071, 114.6846064), it is located at southern latitude in an area toward the interior of the island. Since March 16, 2022, the provincial capital of Kalimantan Selatan has officially been Kota Banjarbaru, which previously took over this function from Banjarmasin. This has somewhat shifted the administrative and economic center of gravity of the province, which also affects the province's internal development dynamics.
General overview
Handil Birayang Bawah is not widely recognized as a tourism or commercial destination, and direct village-level data sources are not available regarding the settlement. The word "handil" appearing in the name refers to a canal system known from the Banjar cultural sphere, which constitutes a traditional element of agricultural and transport infrastructure in Borneo's swampy, flood-prone areas; this characteristic is generally typical of the lower-lying, water-affected parts of Kabupaten Tanah Laut. Kecamatan Bumi Makmur is primarily an agricultural and rural district; typical occupational forms in the area include rice cultivation, fishing, and small-scale horticulture. Due to Kabupaten Tanah Laut's southern location and coastal access, it ranks among the province's economically active zones; however, smaller villages lying in the Bumi Makmur district, including Handil Birayang Bawah, attract considerably less tourism and industrial interest than the regency seat, Pelaihari. Kalimantan Selatan province as a whole covers an area of 38,744 km² and, according to data from the first half of 2025, has nearly 4.33 million inhabitants; this population density corresponds to relatively low values in most rural villages of the region.
Real estate and investment
Verified, concrete data on Handil Birayang Bawah's real estate market is not available; therefore, the following presents the more general context of Kabupaten Tanah Laut and Kalimantan Selatan province. The province's real estate market has undergone moderate but gradual development over recent decades, driven partly by infrastructure investments and partly by labor movements in the mining and agricultural sectors. In rural, flood-prone areas—which Handil Birayang Bawah presumably resembles—land prices are typically significantly lower than in the province's urban or coastal areas. As an important general framework, it should be noted that in Indonesia, foreign nationals' property acquisition opportunities are legally restricted: direct land ownership (Hak Milik) is not available to foreigners, though long-term lease or Hak Pakai rights may be available under specified conditions. From an investment perspective, in such a smaller rural settlement, primarily agricultural land would come into consideration, the value of which is significantly influenced by the area's water management conditions and the quality of local infrastructure.
Safety and security
Independent, verified statistics on Handil Birayang Bawah's public safety are not available. Rural areas of Kalimantan Selatan province can be generally characterized as having lower crime rates compared to larger cities, though this cannot be supported with concrete data from available sources. Considering the province as a whole, official presence is stronger in cities and weaker in more remote, difficult-to-access rural areas. As a generally applicable guideline, it may be noted that in smaller Indonesian villages, traditional forms of community control and neighborhood solidarity play an important role in maintaining everyday security. On this basis, there is no justification for harboring particular safety concerns about the area; however, a specific safety assessment could only be conducted based on local sources.
Tourist attractions
Named tourist attractions are not listed in available sources regarding Handil Birayang Bawah, so the wider context of the adjacent district and Kabupaten Tanah Laut provides an orientation basis. At the regency level, the region's best-known natural attractions are represented by beaches and mangrove forests found on the province's southern coastline, which play primarily a role in domestic tourism. At the province-wide level, mention may be made of Banjarmasin city, which is known throughout Indonesia for its traditional floating markets (pasar terapung) and is one of Kalimantan Selatan's most significant cultural attractions; however, this location is at considerable distance from Handil Birayang Bawah, situated in another part of the province. Regarding Bumi Makmur kecamatan or directly Handil Birayang Bawah, no named, source-supported attraction can be identified from available materials.
Summary
Handil Birayang Bawah is a rural, presumably agricultural and flood-prone small settlement in Kalimantan Selatan province, in the Kecamatan Bumi Makmur district of Kabupaten Tanah Laut. Direct, verified data about the village is limited; based on available provincial-level sources, it can be established that the province, inhabited by the Banjar ethnic group, has operated with Kota Banjarbaru as its seat since 2022 and is home to approximately 4.33 million residents in total. Substantive information regarding the settlement's characteristics concerning tourism, the real estate market, and public safety requires the involvement of local-level data sources.
