Baliem Valley Festival, Ancient Tribe’s Mock War Experience

Attend the Baliem Valley Festival and get a rare chance to learn and experience firsthand different traditions of each tribe who participate in the Festival. During the festival, don’t forget to have your camera in your hand and capture some unique moments that you don’t want to miss.

More than a thousand war participants want to keep abreast with the world. They adorn themselves with local attributes, but at the same time, they use flashy sunglasses as a personal ad of a trendy look. Observe and enjoy the mock war! Feel the hilarity when the spears and arrows get to hit the opponents call the loud roar from the hundreds of spectators! A tip: ask them politely to take some photos and the may pose for you.

After the Festival, your clients will have a chance to go to the Dani Market in Wamena, and visit the traditional Wauma Village. Your clients may also see a 250 year-old mummified village chief or, after a 2-hour climb, see the salt springs, where Dani women have to make salt in a simple way.

Baliem Valley

Baliem Valley, also known as the Grand Valley is located in the Central Highlands of Papua. Baliem Valley has been famous through the world for its beautiful landscape and the unique Dani’s Tribe culture.

Entering this valley will take you to a breathtaking view. Hectares green valleys decorated by colorful wild flowers will accompany you along the way to Dani’s village. The original culture of dani’s tribe becomes the most attractive things to witness. Their daily appearance which still wears traditional costumes, their daily life, and ceremonies cannot be found elsewhere.

Get a tour through the village and you can chat with the native people their culture. At some villages, you may see mummies that remain hundreds of years. The way they make the mummy is also unique. Unlike Egypt way of embalming dead bodies, the dead body being smoked and greased with lard. The process itself took at least 5 years.

Believed as a lake in the past, Baliem Valley owned some space consist of white sand that have exactly the same structure  as white sand that usually found at the beach. What an exceptional natural treasure!

Wayag Island, Home to Pristine Beaches

Wayag Island is one of the islands within the Raja Ampat district in the province of West Papua. The island is known for its beautiful atolls and amazing underwater life covering a total area of 155,000 hectares, about 383,013.3 acres. Here, you find pristine beaches with unique Karst islands that look like mushrooms sprouting out from the sea. Along these beaches, tourists can see fairy tale panorama, more captivating than Leonardo DiCaprio’s getaway in “The Beach”. The crystal clear waters around Wayag Island appear like unreal windows to various types of flora and fauna that live underwater.

Wayag Island never ceases to amaze. Divers, especially, have been overwhelmed not only by the rich underwater displays, but also by the panoramic beauty of the island as they climb up to its highest platform and observe coves and atolls around. It is a dream come true, truly a dream fulfilled. The island is 10 km north of the equator. Liveaboards are the best choice for travelers with a love for adventure and romance. Social contacts with other travelers will only be a call away. Dive briefings are enriching, so that just being there with other divers and the exotic looking staff, you will feel as if you are already drawn into the depths of Wayag’s surreal beauty.
Wonderful Waigeo Island of Raja Ampat

Among the wonderful Raja Ampat Islands, Waigeo is the largest of the archipelago’s four main islands. Waigeo is also known as Amberi, or Waigiu, located in the West Papua province near the town of Sorong. The three other largest islands in this cluster are Salawati, Batanta and Misool. On Waigeo is the town of Wasai, capital of the Raja Ampat regency, located in the west of the island.

Waigeo is home to a wide range of attractions. It is also the easiest island to reach by public transport, though exploring its full diversity still remains a challenge. Waigeo Island offers diving, rock islands, scenic bays walled in by towering cliffs, a jungle interior offering good birdwatching, and the cheapest accommodation options in all of Raja Ampat. All in all, it’s the perfect place to start your exploration of the Raja Ampat cluster.

Waigeo has a wild and jungly interior, much of which is still largely unexplored and inaccessible. There is a large variety of animal species which have made their homes in these jungles. The world renowned crimson Bird-of-Paradise is found here, together with opossums, snakes, tortoises, frilled and giant monitor lizards, plumed herons, and honeyeaters.

One of the most popular attractions in Raja Ampat is the deep sea diving and snorkeling as this is a location with an astonishing amount of marine life. Dive in and swim among the colorful fish groups along the coral reefs. At a depth of approximately 30 meters along the Waiwo Beach, you may get the chance to see white tip reef sharks as well as the black tip reef sharks that are commonly spotted sleeping and sometimes patrolling the blue waters’ depths.

Aside from diving, Pulau Waigeo has also been bragged as a place for excellent underwater photography due to its bio-diversity and exotic sea creatures. The list of species spotted include a huge variety of nudibranch species, sea dragons, blue-striped flagtail pipefish, pygmy sea horses, green sea turtles, giant napoleon wrasse, and Indian lionfish. There is also an abundant growth of corals and sea fans here that serve as homes for large groups of small fish.

Misool Island, a Tropical Hideaway in the Raja Ampat Archipelago

Misool Island is a remote, tropical hideaway, one of four largest islands in the Raja Ampat archipelago, who owned a veritable traffic lane for many large sea creatures, including whales. The crystal clear turquoise sea-waters allow spectacular views of Misool’s sub-surface colorful treasures even when still aboard your boat.

On land, the wild territory of Misool is one of the most visually breath-taking and captivating sites in Raja Ampat. The island is heavily forested, and at first sight reveals nothing but a thick green carpet of dense forests and mangrove swamps. To the east and west of the island, a maze of limestone pinnacles jut sharply out of the blue sea, carved and eroded by the waves and carpeted luxuriantly in vegetation.

The rare beaches on Misool are pure white sand, fringed with coconut trees leading out to the stunningly turquoise waters. Aside from the enchanting panoramic scenery and wealth of marine life, Misool is also home to ancient cultural sites. A number of petroglyphs can be found on walls of caves throughout the island, dating back approximately 5,000 years.

Kofiau Island, World’s Coral Diversity

Kofiau Island is the smaller and least visited amongst the major islands in Raja Ampat, the world’s coral diversity bull’s eye. This island is comprised primarily of raised coral limestone and some volcanic hills covered in low lush rainforest, all offering a wealth of nature & beautiful scenery. If you ever wanted to go where few others have been, head this way.

Swimming and sunbathing on the beaches, snorkeling, diving and underwater photography in marine-rich coral reefs. Take care not to damage the coral anywhere in these areas which are more likely no-take zones.

Take an adventurous hike to an inland lake opposite Deer Village. Hopefully if you’re lucky, somewhere along the way you may witness the dance of the dazzling red bird of paradise, or glimpse a slithering Kofiau Green-tree python, or catch the flapping of passing hornbills, or hear shrieks of the crested cockatoo. To the southwest of Kofiau Proper lie a group of flat sandy islands, including Walo where a couple of recognized dive spots await your exploration. There may even be more.

Raja Ampat

Located off the northwest tip of Bird’s Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, Raja Ampat (the Four Kings) is the part of Coral Triangle which contains the richest marine biodiversity on earth. It consist of over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau. This archipelago is a home to 540 types of corals, more than 1,000 types of coral fish and 700 types of mollusks. According to a report developed by The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International, around 75 percent of the world’s species live here, 10 times that of the Caribbean.

Your morning here is a cacophony of chuffing hornbills, crass squawks of black cockatoos and cackles of sea eagles. The fish around here know how special they are. They shimmer and glow and sparkle like stars in their own biopic, performing in the spotlight of crepuscular sunrays. The high-definition visibility means that in one glance, without having to swim a stroke, you will see a multitude of corals resembling Murano vases or bunches of baby corn, marbled plumbing fittings, peanut brittle, cobwebs and an oversized cabbage patch.

Raja Ampat is a diver’s mecca! Travelers from around the world spend time entering this area of Indonesia to explore what nature has to offer. Millions of fishes and reefs are under the blue waters, many species that you cannot find anywhere else. If you are not diving, you can still have fun! Walk the island, visit the villages, admire the nature, or snorkel and see the natural wonders!

Bukittingi & Naresianok

Bukittinggi, as one of favorite places to visit in Sumatera, is constructed by remarkable giant rock cliffs, stunning rugged trees that grow on top and the dramatic surrounding mountains, which make this area has a spellbinding view. Located over 900 meters above sea level, Bukittinggi is an ideal place to get beyond the average trail journey. Walking around at the hills and enjoy the picturesque landscape as well as witness the local culture is a must to do.

Just on the outskirts of the hill town of Bukittinggi highlands, lays a breathtaking canyon which is called Ngarai Sianok (the Sianok Canyon). Get the best captures of the valleys panorama in the golden sunrise which becomes so remarkable with the majestic Mount Singgalang at its background. The beauty of Sianok can be seen from Panorama Park in Bukittinggi or walk down through the gorge while passing settlement and paddy fields. Don’t forget to bring your camera and take pictures of Ngarai Sianok!

Tangkahan

Tangkahan, “the hidden paradise in Sumatra” is definitely hidden literately. It is the perfect place to get off the beaten track, but still have access to good food and comfortable bungalows. Located on the border of Gunung Leuser National Park, North Sumatra, Tangkahan situated at the junction of 2 rivers, the Buluh River and the Batang River. Tangkahan is an interesting place in many ways. The elephants, the jungle, and the clean rivers are obvious attractions. What makes Tangkahan different is that it is a good example on how community based eco-tourism can stop illegal logging, improve livelihood, and develop a sense of pride amongst the locals.

Ride the 7 trained Sumatran elephants in the jungle; float down the clear river by inflatable boat, lay back and enjoy the mixture of the hot spring waters; go jungle trekking; soak yourself in hot springs just across from the Jungle Lodge, or take a course in how to handle and care for elephants! Don’t forget to experience picnic lunch inside of the jungle or beside the river! These complete adventurous activities can be joined in Tangkahan.

Enjoy the natural wonder of Sumatran forest! Join this eco-trip and feel the challenging off the beaten track journey!

Lake Toba

Located in north Sumatera, Lake Toba is one of the awesome natural wonders of the world, the largest lake in Southeast Asia and the deepest lake in the world. This enormous crater’s lake has an island (which is almost the size of Singapore) in its center named Samosir Island. At over 1,145 square km, and a depth of 450 meters, Lake Toba is actually more like an ocean.

Toba is a place to come and sit back, relax and absorb some beautiful pristine scenery. Enjoy the view of the picturesque mountains set adjoin the enchanting clear lake. Go across the lake and explore the Samosir Island. Visit some Batak tribe (the indigenous tribe of North Sumatera) sanctuary sites as well as learn about their culture and history. At this island you can visit one of the tallest waterfalls in Indonesia called Sipiso-Piso Waterfall or, for one who loves walking adventure, can trekking the Pusuk Buhit to enjoy the remarkable view of Toba Lake from higher level. Feel the relaxation of a journey at off the beaten track of Sumatera!

Rinjani

The magnificent Mount Rinjani is a volcano mountain that towers in the island of Lombok. Climbing to the peak of the mountain is one of the most exhilarating experiences you can have. As the second highest mountain in Indonesia, the landscape of Mount Rinjadi is regarded as one of the best views in the country.

Mount Rinjani has a crescent-shaped lake named Segara Anak which is one of the spiritual places for the local. The Wetu Telu people regard the lake as holy place and routinely come to pray on full moon nights. Not only them, the Balinese also come here each year and perform a ceremony for the mountain’s soul.

Mt Rinjani lies within the Gunung Rinjani National Park that covers 41,330 hectares and sits inside a major bio-geographical transition zone (Wallacea) where the tropical flora and fauna of South East Asia meets that of Australasia. To climb this mountain need 3 days trekking. The route is considered as one of the best treks in South East Asia. For adventurous trekkers, this journey may be a perfect one to experience.