Linda Hoffman - Insight Guides: Indonesia

How To Use This E-Book

Getting around the e-book

This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to Indonesia, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editors Choice categories of activies and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in Indonesia. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, hotels, activities from to culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Indonesia are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Indonesia. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors who use their on-the-ground experience to provide the very latest information; their local expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide to you the best places to stay and eat, so you can be confident that when we say a restaurant or hotel is special, we really mean it.

Like all Insight Guides , this e-book contains hundreds of beautiful photographs to inspire and inform your travel. We commission most of our own photography, and we strive to capture the essence of a destination using original images that you wont find anywhere else.

2012 Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

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Introduction: Island Nation

This land of untamed natural beauty offers a plethora of unique opportunities for the intrepid traveller

Few, if any, other countries on the planet offer the mind-boggling array of holiday options that Indonesia has within its borders. The bonus is that a multitude of them are virtually untapped, giving those who yearn for personal contact with exotic cultures, nature or history such an abundance of choice that time is the only constraint.

The world knows of Bali, Indonesias primary tourist destination, and to a lesser degree the court cultures and historic monuments of Central Java and the beaches of Lombok. In recent years, travellers have begun exploring further afield. Divers are flocking to remote Papuas Raja Ampat, surfers are lured by the daring breaks along the countrys southern coastlines, and hardy climbers explore the many volcanoes. But there is still so much more. Granted, getting to many of these places takes an adventurous spirit, as infrastructure is weak off the beaten path, but for those wishing for unique and authentic experiences, with careful planning they are here for the taking.

For culture aficionados, art, theatre, dance, music, rituals and handicrafts abound. In the remote forests of Kalimantan live the former headhunting Dayaks, and amid the hills and valleys of Central Sulawesi the Torajans still hold elaborate funeral ceremonies. On the small islands east of Lombok exist various ethnic groups whose isolated locations, far from the countrys commercial centres, have left their lifestyles and traditions almost untouched. Indonesias easternmost outpost, Papua, is home to extraordinary lost world cultures of great interest to anthropologists.

There are remains of megalithic cultures on Nias Island (Sumatra), Sumbawa, Sumba, Solor (Nusa Tenggara) and Sulawesi. Houses built in distinctive architectural styles range from the curved roofs of the Miningkabau and Batak (Sumatra) regions to Dayak longhouses (Kalimantan), the highly symbolic thatched-roof houses of western Sumba and the treetop homes of the Korawai in Papua.

Wildlife-lovers may already know about the Komodo dragons, the rare Javan rhino, Sumatran elephants and tigers, as well as both Sumatran and Borneo orang-utans. But many arent aware that most of these creatures are found within Indonesias national parks, which are untapped treasure troves of rare species of mammals, birds and plants. In addition to diving, surfing, trekking and climbing, opportunities for other outdoor sports are prolific. And for those who prefer viewing nature in a more relaxed way, scenic drives and sailing cruises afford spectacular scenery.

Indonesias Top 10 Attractions

The astonishing array of Indonesian cultures and customs is equalled by the amazing landscapes and wildlife of this nation of islands.

Top Attraction 1

Borobudur. Mesmerising Borobudur is the worlds largest Buddhist monument. Dating from the 9th century, this gigantic stupa forms the shape of a mandala a geometric aid to meditation. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 2

Orang-utans. The best places to see these magnificent creatures are the rainforests of Tanjung Puting National Park (Central Kalimantan) and Gunung Leuser National Park (North Sumatra). For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 3

Gunung Bromo. Arrive before dawn to witness the sunrise illuminate one of the worlds most remarkable volcanic landscapes. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 4

Kuta, Sanur and Seminyak beaches. Visions of Bali almost always include its southern beaches, with Kuta in the limelight for surfers and young partygoers, followed by the trendier scenes at upscale Sanur and Seminyak. For more information, .

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications