Indonesia Travel

Komodo and Rinca are hilly and desolate yet beautiful islands, sandwiched between Flores and Sumbawa, that are home to gargantuan reptiles – the legendary Komodo dragon. The world’s largest lizard, known locally as ora, it can reach over 3m in length, weigh up to 100kg and feed on animals as large as deer and buffalo.

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Deep, dark and exotic, the very notion of Borneo rouses something in the subconscious. Summoning visions of mythical people and ancient forests, it tugs at the adventurer within. It’s a romantic notion, but the world’s third-largest island has managed to keep some of her secrets and most of them lie in the impenetrable interior of Kalimantan.

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Of all the 17,000 islands that make up Indonesia, Java is king. It may not have the beaches of Bali, the jungles of Kalimantan, or the remoteness of Papua, but it’s the heart of the country, a heart with more drive and energy than any other island in this vast archipelago. With 120 million people crammed into an area half the size of Great Britain, Java is one populated place. And with such unfathomable human resources, it’s no wonder that the nation’s political and economic past, present and future are decided within its shores. For many, Indonesia quite simply begins and ends with Java.

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Whether you love it or hate it, there is no escaping Jakarta, Indonesia’s overweight capital. This ‘Big Durian’ is filled with all the good and bad of Indonesian life.

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Gunung Bromo is nature’s Borobudur; it’s a landscape that’s as evocative and resonant as any in Southeast Asia, and is the raw material for countless legends and as many picture postcards.

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Most day-visitors come on organised tours and stop at the crater rim at Penelokan for views and lunch; most overnight visitors stay in the villages around the lake. The views both from above and from lake level are truly wonderful – if you hit the area on a clear day.

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Just off the northwestern coast of Lombok is a vision of tropical paradise – a trio of tiny coral-fringed islands, each with white sandy beaches and pellucid water teeming with a kaleidoscopic array of reef fish. For years the islands of Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan were a budget-priced stopover for travellers on the Asian trail, but in recent years accommodation options have diversified and now there are luxury villas and rustic-chic bungalows dotted between the simple bamboo-and-thatch huts for rent.

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A fascinating, mountainous and remarkably beautiful island, Flores has a volcanic topography that has longed shaped its destiny. A chain of cones stretches the length of this verdant island, provoking a complicated relief of V-shaped valleys and knife-edged ridges – terrain that was near-impenetrable until recent years and that has separated the island into many distinct ethnic groups. Today, though Flores is overwhelmingly Catholic, rich indigenous cultures continue to thrive alongside mainstream religious beliefs.

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The port town of Ende is an important transport hub, with good sea and air connections to the other islands in Nusa Tenggara, though there’s little to see in the town itself. Nevertheless, some fine mountain scenery surrounds the town, including the cones of Gunung Meja (661m) near the airport and larger Gunung Iya, occupying a promontory to the south.

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The lofty plateau of Dieng (2093m above sea level) is home to the oldest Hindu temples in Java. Its name comes from Di-Hyang (Abode of the Gods), and it’s thought that this was once the site of a flourishing temple-city of priests.

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