Indonesia

Indonesia exists of 17.000 islands of which less than the half is inhabited. Every island has its own culture and traditions. The largely volcanic nature of the islands has created tall cloud-swept mountains covered with jungle and green rice terraces, reaching out to stunning white sandy beaches and crystal blue seas. Indonesia is also full of wildlife like the orangutan, the exclusive Komodo dragon, Sumatran tiger, Sun bear and many more. It also still has many ethnic tribes like the Ngada tribe on Flores and the Korowai tribe on Papua New Guinea. This high diversity of landscape and culture offers for every type of traveler a suitable array of options.

Highlights

Indonesia has a lot to offer. Below we made our own selection of places we think are definitely worth a visit.

The stunning beaches and ethnic tribes of Flores - Flores is a hidden paradise, still undiscovered by a bunch of tourists. Bring a visit to Mount Kelimutu with its stunning blue lakes, the indigenous people of Wae Rebo or the secluded beach that are scattered all over Flores.
The jungle and wildlife of Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra - this national park is the only one in the world that is home to the big four endangered species: Sumatran orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinos.
The Jatiluwih rice fields of Bali - this is a World Heritage Site in the middle of the mountain region of Bali. The vast expanses of terraced, green rice paddies are stepped along an entire mountain, from its peak to where its foot meets the sea.
The Komodo Dragon in Komodo National Park - they are the heaviest lizards on Earth. They will eat almost anything, including carrion, deer, pigs, smaller dragons, and even large water buffalo and humans.

What to eat

Indonesian cuisine is one of the most vibrant and colorful cuisines in the world, full of intense flavors. The diversity is high due to the many different islands and the influences of India, China, Spanish, Portugal and Middle East as Indonesia was an important trade hub. Our most favorite dishes you definitely should try are:

Cah kangkung - water spinach, a common river weed, kangkung gets stir fried with sweet soybean sauce, huge slices of garlic, bird’s-eye chili and shrimp paste to take it from a poor man’s food to something with a kick.
Pempek – a fried fish cake in sweet and sour sauce. Always good!
Rendang curry – it’s one of Indonesia’s most famous curry. It is rich in flavor with many different spices, coconut milk and slices of beef.
Gado-Gado – you can’t miss this one which is a dish loved by almost everyone. It consists of different vegetables with a thick peanut sauce. From spinach, potato long beans, corn and many other vegetables. Gado-gado gets sweeter as you travel eastward through Indonesia.
Nasi Goreng – is one of our old-time favorites. It is made with sweet, thick soy sauce, vegetables and egg. Simply delicious for any time at the day!
Lapis Legit – a wonderful and delicious layered cake, one of our favorites!

When to go

The northern islands of Indonesia can always get some rain, but the heaviest rain falls between December and March. The driest period is between May to September.

The average rain and temperature in Indonesia.

What to know

Visitors to Indonesia must obtain a visa from one of the Indonesian diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or one of the countries eligible for visa on arrival.

If you want to know if you need a visa, please click here .