Lonely Planet Indonesia Read online

  Indonesia

  Contents

  Plan Your Trip

  Welcome to Indonesia

  Indonesia's Top 20

  Need to Know

  What's New

  If You Like...

  Month by Month

  Itineraries

  Outdoor Adventures

  Travel with Children

  Regions at a Glance

  On The Road

  Java

  Java Highlights

  Jakarta

  Thousand Islands

  Pulau Bidadari

  Pulau Macan

  West Java

  Banten

  Merak

  Carita

  Labuan

  Gunung Krakatau

  Ujung Kulon National Park

  Bogor

  Around Bogor

  Cimaja

  Around Cimaja

  Cibodas

  Gede Pangrango National Park

  Cianjur

  Bandung

  North of Bandung

  South of Bandung

  Bandung to Pangandaran

  Pangandaran

  Around Pangandaran

  Central Java

  Wonosobo

  Dieng Plateau

  Borobudur

  Yogyakarta

  Imogiri

  Gunung Merapi

  Kaliurang & Kaliadem

  Selo

  Prambanan

  Solo (Surakarta)

  Sangiran

  Gunung Lawu

  Tawangmangu

  North Coast

  Semarang

  Ambarawa

  Demak

  Jepara

  Around Jepara

  Karimunjawa Islands

  East Java

  Surabaya

  Trowulan

  Pulau Madura

  Malang

  Around Malang

  Blitar

  Panataran

  Gunung Kelud

  Pacitan

  Around Pacitan

  Probolinggo

  Gunung Bromo & Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park

  Bondowoso

  Ijen Plateau

  Jember

  Kalibaru

  Meru Betiri National Park

  Alas Purwo National Park

  Banyuwangi

  Baluran National Park

  Bali

  Kuta & Legian

  Seminyak & Kerobokan

  Canggu & Around

  Bukit Peninsula

  Sanur

  Denpasar

  Nusa Lembongan

  Nusa Ceningan

  Nusa Penida

  South of Ubud

  North of Ubud

  Gianyar

  Bangli

  Semarapura (Klungkung)

  Sidemen Road

  Pura Besakih

  Rendang to Amlapura Road

  Gunung Agung

  Kusamba to Padangbai

  Padangbai

  Padangbai to Candidasa

  Tenganan

  Candidasa

  Candidasa to Amlapura

  Amlapura

  Tirta Gangga

  Amed & the Far East Coast

  Tulamben

  Gunung Batur

  Around Gunung Batur

  Around Danau Batur

  Danau Bratan

  Gunung Batukau Area

  Singaraja

  Lovina

  West of Lovina

  Pemuteran

  Bali Barat National Park

  Gilimanuk

  Pura Tanah Lot

  Tabanan

  Balian Beach

  Jembrana Coast

  Nusa Tenggara

  Nusa Tenggara Highlights

  Lombok

  Mataram

  Around Mataram

  Lembar

  Southwestern Peninsula

  Senggigi

  Senggigi to Bangsal

  Bangsal to Bayan

  Senaru

  Sembalun Valley

  Gunung Rinjani

  Tetebatu

  Praya

  Around Praya

  Kuta

  East of Kuta

  West of Kuta

  Labuhan Lombok

  South of Labuhan Lombok

  Gili Islands

  Sumbawa

  West Sumbawa

  Sumbawa Besar

  Around Sumbawa Besar

  East Sumbawa

  Komodo & Rinca Islands

  Komodo

  Rinca

  Flores

  Labuanbajo

  Manggarai Country

  Bajawa

  Around Bajawa

  Riung

  Ende

  Kelimutu

  Moni

  Detusoko

  Paga

  Sikka & Lela

  Maumere

  Around Maumere

  Larantuka

  Alor Archipelago

  Kalabahi

  Around Kalabahi

  West Timor

  Kupang

  Around Kupang

  Soe

  Around Soe

  Kefamenanu

  Around Kefamenanu

  Rote

  Ba'a

  Nemberala

  Around Nemberala

  Sumba

  Waingapu

  Around Waingapu

  East Sumba

  South-Central Sumba

  Waikabubak

  West Sumba

  Maluku

  Maluku Highlights

  North Maluku

  Pulau Ternate

  Pulau Tidore

  Pulau Halmahera

  Pulau Ambon

  Kota Ambon

  Southern Leitimur

  Eastern Leihitu

  Northern & Western Leihitu

  Lease Islands

  Pulau Saparua

  Pulau Molana

  Pulau Seram

  Masohi, Namano & Amahai

  Northern Seram

  Banda Islands

  Bandaneira

  Pulau Gunung Api

  Pulau Banda Besar

  Pulau Hatta

  Pulau Ai

  Pulau Run (Rhun)

  Kei Islands

  Tual & Langgur

  Pulau Kei Kecil

  Pulau Tanimbar Kei

  Pulau Kei Besar

  Papua

  Papua Highlights

  West Papua

  Sorong

  Raja Ampat Islands

  Manokwari

  Around Manokwari

  Northern Papua

  Jayapura

  Sentani

  Around Sentani

  Pulau Biak

  Nabire

  Baliem Valley

  Wamena

  Northeastern Baliem Valley

  Northwestern Baliem Valley

  Danau Habbema

  Yali Country

  The South

  Merauke

  Wasur National Park

  Asmat Region

  Korowai Region

  Sumatra

  Sumatra Highlights

  North Sumatra

  Medan

  Bukit Lawang

  Tangkahan

  Berastagi

  Parapat

  Danau Toba

  Sibolga

  Pulau Nias

  Gunung Sitoli

  Teluk Dalam

  Pantai Sorake & Teluk Lagundri

  Traditional Villages

  Aceh

  Banda Aceh

  Pulau Weh

  Aceh's West Coast

  Banyak Islands

  Gunung Leuser National Park

  West Sumatra

  Padang

  Around Padang

  Mentawai Isla
nds

  Bukittinggi

  Around Bukittinggi

  Danau Maninjau

  Kerinci Valley

  Kerinci Seblat National Park

  Bengkulu

  Bengkulu

  Around Bengkulu

  Riau

  Pekanbaru

  Pulau Batam

  Pulau Bintan

  Jambi

  Jambi

  South Sumatra

  Palembang

  Krui

  Lampung

  Bandarlampung

  Way Kambas National Park

  Gunung Krakatau

  Bakauheni

  Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park

  Kalimantan

  Kalimantan Highlights

  West Kalimantan

  Pontianak

  Sungai Kapuas

  Sukadana

  Central Kalimantan

  Tanjung Puting National Park

  Kumai

  Pangkalan Bun

  Palangka Raya

  South Kalimantan

  Banjarmasin

  Kandangan

  Negara

  Loksado

  East Kalimantan

  Balikpapan

  Samarinda

  Sungai Mahakam

  The Muller Mountains

  Kutai National Park

  Berau

  Merabu

  Derawan Archipelago

  North Kalimantan

  Sulawesi

  Sulawesi Highlights

  South Sulawesi

  Makassar

  Around Makassar

  Pantai Bira

  Pulau Lihukan

  Pulau Selayar

  Taka Bone Rate Islands

  Watampone

  Sengkang

  Pare Pare

  Tana Toraja

  Around Tana Toraja

  West Sulawesi

  Mamasa Valley

  Central Sulawesi

  Pendolo

  Tentena

  Poso

  Around Poso

  Lore Lindu National Park

  Palu

  Donggala & Tanjung Karang

  Luwuk

  Ampana

  Togean Islands

  North Sulawesi

  Gorontalo

  Manado

  Pulau Bunaken

  Tomohon

  Around Tomohon

  Bitung

  Pulau Lembeh & the Lembeh Strait

  Tangkoko-Batuangas Dua Saudara Nature Reserve

  Southeast Sulawesi

  Kolaka

  Kendari

  Bau Bau

  Tukangbesi Islands

  Understand

  Understand Indonesia

  Indonesia Today

  History

  Culture

  Food & Drink

  Environment

  Survive

  Responsible Travel

  Responsible Diving

  Responsible Hiking & Trekking

  Volunteering

  Directory AZ

  Accommodation

  Customs Regulations

  Electricity

  Embassies & Consulates

  Food

  Insurance

  Internet Access

  Legal Matters

  LGBT Travellers

  Maps

  Money

  Opening Hours

  Photography

  Post

  Public Holidays

  Safe Travel

  Telephone

  Time

  Toilets

  Tourist Information

  Travellers with Disabilities

  Visas

  Volunteering

  Women Travellers

  Transport

  Getting There & Away

  Getting Around

  Health

  Before You Go

  In Indonesia

  Language

  Behind the Scenes

  Our Writers

  Welcome to Indonesia

  Indonesia's numbers astound: more than 17,000 islands, of which 8000 are inhabited, and over 300 languages are spoken across them. It's a beguiling country offering myriad adventures.

  Rich Diversity

  The world’s fourth most populous country – 255 million and counting – is a sultry kaleidoscope that runs along the equator for 5000km. From the western tip of Sumatra to the eastern edge of Papua, this nation defies homogenisation. It is a land of so many cultures, peoples, animals, customs, plants, sights, artworks and foods that it is like 100 countries melded into one.

  The people are as radically different from each other as if they came from different continents, with every island a unique blend of the men, women and children who live upon it. Over time deep and rich cultures have evolved, from the mysteries of the spiritual Balinese to the utterly non-Western belief system of the Asmat people of Papua.

  Beaches & Volcanoes

  Venturing across Indonesia you’ll see a dramatic landscape, as diverse as those living upon it. Sulawesi's wildly multi-limbed coastline embraces white-sand beaches and diving haunts, while Sumatra is contoured by a legion of nearly 100 volcanoes marching off into the distance, several capable of erupting at any time.

  Amazing Spectacle

  Dramatic sights are the norm. There’s the sublime: an orangutan lounging in a tree. The artful: a Balinese dancer executing precise moves that would make a robot seem loose-limbed. The idyllic: a deserted stretch of blinding white sand on Sumbawa set off by azure surf breaks. The astonishing: the mobs in a cool, glitzy Jakarta mall on a Sunday. The intriguing: the too-amazing-for-fiction tales of the twisted history of the beautiful Banda Islands. The heart-stopping: the ominous menace of a Komodo dragon. The humbling: a woman bent double with a load of firewood on Sumatra. The delicious: a south Bali restaurant. The shocking: the funeral ceremonies of Tana Toraja. The solemn: the serene magnificence of Borobudur.

  Great Adventure

  This ever-intriguing, ever-intoxicating land offers some of the last great adventures on earth. Sitting in the open door of a train whizzing across Java, idling away time on a ferry bound for Kalimantan, hanging on to the back of a scooter on Flores, rounding the mystifying corner of an ancient West Timor village or simply trekking through wilderness you’re sure no one has seen before – you’ll enjoy endless exploration of the infinite diversity of Indonesia’s 17,000-odd islands.

  Gunung Bromo, JavaANUCHIT KAMSONGMUEANG/GETTY IMAGES ©

  Why I Love Indonesia

  By Ryan Ver Berkmoes, Writer

  I was driving across beautiful Flores and rounding a corner somewhere east of the steamy port town of Ende, when the most brilliant view of a volcano filled my windscreen. Conical, with obvious recent lava flows down the side and a little ominous wisp of steam rising from the top. And I thought: 'That's the third one today!' And so it goes in Indonesia – where the natural beauty is as diverse as the people who live among it. You can have world-class fun on Bali and the next day be way off the grid in the incredible Bandas.

  Indonesia's Top 20

  Komodo National Park

  Indonesia’s best-known national park comprises several islands and some of the country's richest waters within its 1817 sq km. Expect hulking mountainous islands blanketed in savannah, laced with trails and patrolled by the world’s largest lizard: the Komodo dragon. That’s the big draw here, and it’s easy to spot them, but there’s also big nature beneath the water's surface where kaleidoscopic bait draws big pelagics like sharks and manta rays in great numbers. Nearby Labuanbajo, on the island of Flores, is the perfect traveller base.

  Komodo dragonBARRY KUSUMA/GETTY IMAGES ©

  Top Experiences

  Balinese Dance

  Enjoying a Balinese dance performance is a highlight of a visit to Indonesia's most famous holiday island. The haunting sounds, elaborate costumes, careful choreography and even light-hearted comic routines add up to great entertainment. Swept up in the spectacle, you'll soon understand why B
alinese culture is among the world's most developed. The music that often accompanies traditional dance is based around an ensemble known as a gamelan. The melodic, sometimes upbeat and sometimes haunting percussion is a night-time staple of life in Ubud, Bali's cultural centre.