History of Bintan
Due to it’s strategic location and size Bintan has a rich history. Riau has for centuries been the home of Malay and the Orang Laut people (sea nomads). Later migrants came from south China and Indochina, today people from a large region of Asia has settled here. Bintan was located aside the China-India maritime trading [...]
Central Lombok
The fertile area south of the mighty Rinjani mountain has several interesting villages, beautiful landscapes and green rice fields. Most of the villages here are populated by Sasak, one often visited village is Tetebatu at the foot of Gunung Rinjani, from here the view to this mountain and the southern part of the island is [...]
Lombok
Lombok is known for it’s natural beauty and a large variety of landscapes, from tropical beaches to high mountains, dry plains and deep forests. The island is considered to be more “unspoiled” than Bali, tourism is still limited to just a few areas. The size of the island is 5.435 square km, which is relatively [...]
Yeh Pulu
For most people who visit Bali Yeh Pulu remains a well hidden secret. This may not be a grand attraction, but the site is one of Bali’s oldest and contain some of the most mysterious and important sculptures from it’s time, Yeh Pulu is therefore of great importance to the Balinese. Like the nearby Goa [...]
Bitung and Lembeh
The port town of Bitung is about one hour drive (55 km) east of Manado. The Lembeh island east of the city protects the area from the sea, and Bitung is today an important commercial harbor for export from Manado and all of east Indonesia. It ia also a point of arrival for travellers who [...]
Madura
Madura is a large island outside East Java, 5.290 square kilometers, about 160 km long and 35 km wide. It is separated from Surabaya by the narrow Madura strait, and is administered as a part of the East Java district. Main income is fishing, salt, cattle and agriculture. The local capital is Pamekasan. Number of [...]
Sumba
South of Flores, between Sumbawa and Timor there is an island where the traditional customs are among the best preserved in Nusa Tenggara. This is Sumba, a relatively large island, 11.153 sq. km. with a population that reaches about 600.000, the name of the capital is Waingapu. Much of the island consists of a flat, [...]
Wetar and Liran
Wetar is located just 56 km north of Timor’s northeastern coast. The island is 80 km long in east-west direction and 45 km wide in north-south direction, area about 3.600 sq. km. The interior of the island is mountainous and covered by rain forest, highest mountain is 1.412 m. The climate is in the wet [...]
The Banda Islands
The Banda Sea is one of Indonesia’s deepest oceans, at the most more than 6.500 m deep. It spans a large area, all the way to Sulawesi in the west. At the center of the sea south of Seram there are a small group of ten islands plus some uninhabited small corral islands, called the [...]
The Aru Islands
The group of islands called Aru are located just west of West Papua in the Arafura Sea, which stretches all the way to West Papua to the east and Australia to the south. Aru is the easternmost group of islands in Maluku, they consists of about 85 islands totaling an area of 8.563 sq. km. [...]
West Timor
Timor is the easternmost and clearly the largest island in the Nusa Tenggara archipelago (see also East Timor). The island is 450 km long and 105 km wide. Area 30.820 sq. km, with a population of around 1.3 million on West Timor and about 850.000 on East Timor. The island has several mountain chains, the [...]
Pulau Buru
Pulau Buru is one of the largest islands in Maluku, it is part of central Maluku and is administered from Ambon just east of the island. Buru consists mainly of mountains covered with forest, the highest peak is Gunung Tomahu, 2.428 meter above sea level. Land area about 3.670 sq. km., it is 145 km [...]
Sumbawa
Sumbawa is located east of Lombok, and is larger than Bali and Lombok together. Area 15.448 sq. km, population about 800.000, of which the majority are occupied with agriculture and fishing. The people here are, like on Lombok, mainly Muslims. Christian missionaries did not even bother to come here. Some old animistic traditions are still [...]
Sawu Island
Sawu (also known as Sabu) is a small island, approx. 461 sq. km, located southwest of Timor and southeast of Sumba. Population about 60.000. Sawu is isolated from other islands by a deep ocean. This island is like Sumba less influenced by modern lifestyle, and is known for a culture where old traditions like offerings, [...]
Roti Island
Just south west of Timor, about three hours by boat from Kupang, is the small island of Roti, size 1.214 sq. km. Like on Sawu much of the life here depends on the “lontar” palm tree, used for everything from nutrient to building material. The population are mainly occupied by fishing, some agriculture and weaving [...]
South Lombok
South Lombok is the least populated and maybe the least accessible part of the island, except for the Kuta area which is more developed. The roads are often in a bad condition, especially in the wet season. There is not much public transportation here, it is best to have your own car with or without [...]
