Introducing Indonesia
Adventure looms large in this vast and steamy archipelago, where the best of Southeast Asia’s spicy melange simmers tantalisingly. Heady scents, vivid colours, dramatic vistas and diverse cultures spin and multiply to the point of exhaustion, their potent brew leaving your senses reeling.
Rippling across the equator for nearly 5000km, Indonesia encompasses more than 17,000 islands, two-thirds of which are inhabited and richly layered with character. On Sulawesi, the elaborate funeral ceremonies and timeless traditions of Tana Toraja are light years from the surfing culture of Lombok. But so too are the mighty saddle-backed Batak mansions of Danua Toba and the volcanic lakes of Sumatra from the mummies and deeply etched gorges of Papua’s Baliem Valley. The resorts and restaurants of Bali pamper precocious style cats, while at the same moment threadbare backpackers are adopted by homestays in Kalimantan.
Indonesia’s cities are in a constant state of urban evolution, where dense populations, technology and construction live in hectic symbiosis. But most of the archipelago’s territory remains unexplored, concealing a wealth of cultures and a myriad of landscapes. Oceanic rice fields and ancient sultanates in Java are humbled by haunting volcanic cones. Maluku’s alabaster beaches and desert islands remain pristine while the tourist trail heads elsewhere. The jungles of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua are zoological wonders, revealing impish monkeys, stoic sun bears, leopards, orang-utans and remarkable marsupials.
And then there are the micromoments, equally exquisite but entirely unexpected; impromptu English lessons with school children, instant friendships in crammed bemos, lending an ear to your becak rider… In Indonesia there is plenty of cause to pause, except when dodging hurtling traffic – but that’s all part of the adventure.
Rippling across the equator for nearly 5000km, Indonesia encompasses more than 17,000 islands, two-thirds of which are inhabited and richly layered with character. On Sulawesi, the elaborate funeral ceremonies and timeless traditions of Tana Toraja are light years from the surfing culture of Lombok. But so too are the mighty saddle-backed Batak mansions of Danua Toba and the volcanic lakes of Sumatra from the mummies and deeply etched gorges of Papua’s Baliem Valley. The resorts and restaurants of Bali pamper precocious style cats, while at the same moment threadbare backpackers are adopted by homestays in Kalimantan.
Indonesia’s cities are in a constant state of urban evolution, where dense populations, technology and construction live in hectic symbiosis. But most of the archipelago’s territory remains unexplored, concealing a wealth of cultures and a myriad of landscapes. Oceanic rice fields and ancient sultanates in Java are humbled by haunting volcanic cones. Maluku’s alabaster beaches and desert islands remain pristine while the tourist trail heads elsewhere. The jungles of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua are zoological wonders, revealing impish monkeys, stoic sun bears, leopards, orang-utans and remarkable marsupials.
And then there are the micromoments, equally exquisite but entirely unexpected; impromptu English lessons with school children, instant friendships in crammed bemos, lending an ear to your becak rider… In Indonesia there is plenty of cause to pause, except when dodging hurtling traffic – but that’s all part of the adventure.
Indonesia Travel Guide
Draped languidly across the equator, the charismatic archipelago of Indonesia is a smattering of diverse island jewels bobbing around in tropical seas. A visit is a great adventure in waiting – it’s truly one of the last intrepid destinations left on the planet. The third most populous nation on earth has an incredible legacy of peoples, cultures and geography just waiting to be explored.
Visitors will soon be tripping over pristine, white-sand beaches fringed by dramatic volcanic ranges towering over verdant green terraced hillsides and lush rainforest. A kaleidoscope of sealife including huge sunfish, manta rays, porpoises, turtles and blindingly colourful beds of coral await beneath the waves.
Bali is the picture-postcard paradise: stunning scenery, gentle sarong-clad people and sunsets of legendary glory. Komodo Island's ‘living dinosaurs’ will astound as do Borobudur's architectural treasures, which include 5km (3 miles) of Buddhist relief carvings. Adventure-seekers head for Kalimantan's remote jungle interior or explore Sumatra, with its teeming wildlife and wealth of tribal groups.
Draped languidly across the equator, the charismatic archipelago of Indonesia is a smattering of diverse island jewels bobbing around in tropical seas. A visit is a great adventure in waiting – it’s truly one of the last intrepid destinations left on the planet. The third most populous nation on earth has an incredible legacy of peoples, cultures and geography just waiting to be explored.
Visitors will soon be tripping over pristine, white-sand beaches fringed by dramatic volcanic ranges towering over verdant green terraced hillsides and lush rainforest. A kaleidoscope of sealife including huge sunfish, manta rays, porpoises, turtles and blindingly colourful beds of coral await beneath the waves.
Bali is the picture-postcard paradise: stunning scenery, gentle sarong-clad people and sunsets of legendary glory. Komodo Island's ‘living dinosaurs’ will astound as do Borobudur's architectural treasures, which include 5km (3 miles) of Buddhist relief carvings. Adventure-seekers head for Kalimantan's remote jungle interior or explore Sumatra, with its teeming wildlife and wealth of tribal groups.
Top destinations
Jakarta Travel Guide
Jakarta, the sprawling, smoggy capital of Indonesia, will frustrate, entice, aggravate and beguile - few places in this part of Asia are as challenging or rewarding. But Jakarta is the beating heart of Indonesia, the archipelago in a nutshell. For those visitors prepared to peel away the city’s urban layers of irritation, rich rewards lay waiting.
The historic old town of Batavia (Kota) is like a time warp and brings to life the city’s colonial roots, while a clutch of excellent museums help with interpretation of this rich history.
Jakarta is the ultimate city of contrasts. An intoxicating Asian destination where on one side of the city old sailing schooners trade spices in a scene that has not changed for centuries. Just streets away gleaming new glass and steel skyscrapers reach for the heavens in a skyline that has been transformed beyond recognition.
Jakarta is where the greater Indonesian identity has been created, forged by the ceaseless interaction of peoples and cultures from all over the archipelago. Freed from the yolk of colonialism, this bold, brash and bustling city buzzes along and after a few days it is hard not to get caught up in its palpable energy.
Jakarta, the sprawling, smoggy capital of Indonesia, will frustrate, entice, aggravate and beguile - few places in this part of Asia are as challenging or rewarding. But Jakarta is the beating heart of Indonesia, the archipelago in a nutshell. For those visitors prepared to peel away the city’s urban layers of irritation, rich rewards lay waiting.
The historic old town of Batavia (Kota) is like a time warp and brings to life the city’s colonial roots, while a clutch of excellent museums help with interpretation of this rich history.
Jakarta is the ultimate city of contrasts. An intoxicating Asian destination where on one side of the city old sailing schooners trade spices in a scene that has not changed for centuries. Just streets away gleaming new glass and steel skyscrapers reach for the heavens in a skyline that has been transformed beyond recognition.
Jakarta is where the greater Indonesian identity has been created, forged by the ceaseless interaction of peoples and cultures from all over the archipelago. Freed from the yolk of colonialism, this bold, brash and bustling city buzzes along and after a few days it is hard not to get caught up in its palpable energy.
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