Indonesia

Overview

Indonesia is a huge tropical archipelago scattered across both sides of the Equator between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. One of the world's most ecologically diverse countries, it comprises over 17,000 islands, many of them lush and rainforested, fringed by beaches and dotted with active volcanoes. Thousands are entirely uninhabited save for abundant wildlife, while some 6,000 are home to hundreds of ethnic groups with their own languages, foods and cultures, including the world's largest city, Jakarta , and the tourist hotspot of Bali . Indonesia's extraordinary natural and cultural diversity, and the warmth and friendliness of its people, draw millions of travellers to visit each year.

With over 17,000 islands, 6,000 of them inhabited, Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. To imagine how vast Indonesia is, Indonesia stretches from west to east as wide as the United States or Western and Eastern Europe combined, yet more than two thirds of the area is sea water.

With more than 260 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world — after India , China and the United States — and by far the largest in Southeast Asia .

The population is spread unequally among the five biggest islands, Java , Sumatra , Sulawesi , Kalimantan and Papua ; Java has half of the population. More than 50% of foreign tourists enter Indonesia through the airport of Bali , and most of the rest come in through Jakarta 's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport for business or as a hub to other Indonesia tourist destinations or through Batam mostly by ferry from Singapore . These three arrival sites account for about 90% of foreign arrivals.

Places to explore

Indonesia is almost unimaginably vast: more than 17,000 islands providing over 100,000 km (62,000 mi) of coastline. The distance between Aceh in the west and Papua in the east is about 5,200 km (3,200 mi), comparable to the distance between New York City and London . Lying along the Ring of Fire, Indonesia has more than 400 volcanoes, around 130 of which are considered active, as well as many undersea volcanoes. The island of New Guinea , whose western half is Indonesian territory, is the second-largest island in the world; Borneo (about 3/4 Indonesian, with the rest belonging to Malaysia and Brunei ) is the third-largest; and Sumatra is the sixth-largest.

Travellers to Indonesia tend to have Bali at the top of their mind as their reason to visit, which is understandable given its accessibility but does rather sell the rest of the country short, as there are even more breathtaking natural beauty and cultural experiences elsewhere waiting to be explored. The vastness of the country and the variety of its islands offer significant cultural differences that are worth experiencing.

Sights and landscapes

Indonesia is home to 167 active volcanoes , far more than any other country. Don't let this fact scare you, though, as most are dormant and what you see is most often their topography rather than spewing smoke. Some of the more accessible mountains for visitors are in the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park and the Ijen Crater in East Java , Mount Rinjani in Lombok and perhaps easiest of all, Mount Batur , and Mount Agung , its neighbour in Bali .

Hardly surprisingly in the world's largest archipelago, beaches are significant attractions. Aside from the obvious like Bali and Lombok , there are wonderful beaches in off-the-beaten-track locations, especially in Maluku , Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi . In a nation of 18,000+ islands, the options are almost endless.

Experiences

Indonesia has some of the best scuba diving spots in the world. Indonesia is at the centre of the so-called Coral Triangle which is home to 5,000 species of fish and hosts 20% of the world's reefs. The beautiful reef formations are a major draw for tourists to places like Bunaken in Northern Sulawesi , Wakatobi in South East Sulawesi , the Alor Archipelago (Nusa Tenggara) and Raja Ampat in Papua. While diving off Bali can be a little mediocre, Nusa Penida and the Gili Islands just to the east of the island offer excellent recreational diving, as well as being important teaching centres. Pulau Weh in the Indian Ocean has the best diving in Sumatra.

Indonesia is one of the best places to pamper or rejuvenate yourself. Visiting a spa is a very popular activity for all types of visitors. The soothing natural ingredients and graceful massages are a perfect combination for detoxification. These vary from simply constructed huts to lavish so-called "wellness centres" in the grandest of five star hotels. There is usually an option to suit just about every budget. Bali 's beaches and pristine nature is the centre of this activity.

If massage is your thing, there are few places anywhere which offer such high quality for such low prices. Again this could be at a five star hotel or it could be under coconut tree on a quiet beach.

Culture and food

With 17,000 islands to choose from, Indonesian food is an umbrella term covering a vast variety of regional cuisines found across the nation. But, if used without further qualifiers, the term tends to mean the food originally from the central and eastern parts of the main island Java . Now widely available throughout the archipelago, Javanese cuisine features an array of simply seasoned dishes, the predominant flavorings the Javanese favor being peanuts, chillies, sugar (especially Javanese coconut sugar) and various aromatic spices.

Planning your route

Indonesia's vast area and lack of fixed links between islands mean that the only rapid means of long-distance travel within Indonesia is by air. State-owned carrier Garuda Indonesia is a full-service airline and thus usually comes out as the most expensive, but offers seamless connection between its extensive domestic networks and international flights, and has the best safety record of the lot. Lion Air is a low cost carrier (LCC) that has plenty of flights to a specific destination, though major delays occur sporadically. Wings Air is a subsidiary of Lion Air is also a LCC. Other low-cost competitors include Citilink , Garuda Indonesia's subsidiary, and Indonesia AirAsia , a subsidiary of Malaysia's AirAsia.

Travel guide text compiled and adapted from Wikivoyage article (contributors). Sections were selected and reordered for this guide. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Check current arrangements with your travel consultant.