Ultimate in Diversity

The Republic of Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world comprising 17,504 large and small tropical islands fringed with white sandy beaches, many still uninhabited and a number even still unnamed. Straddling the equator, situated between the continents of Asia and Australia and between the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, it is as wide as the United States from San Francisco to New York, equaling the distance between London and Moscow. ...

People and Culture

Living on more than 17,000 islands, the Indonesian nation today counts some 200 million population comprising more than 200 ethnic groups. After Independence in 1945 inter-marriages among people of different ethnic groups have welded the population into a more cohesive Indonesian nation. The majority of the population embraces Islam, while in Bali the Hindu religion is predominant. Whereas in areas like the Minahasa in North Sulawesi, the Toraja...

Climate

Being a tropical country, Indonesia is blessed with two seasons, namely dry and rainy. Dry usually occurs from June to September and the rest is rainy season. Sunshine is abundant except in rainy season when the sky tends to be cloudy. It is advisable to visit Indonesia during dry season.  Make sure that your visit does not coincide with holiday festivities such as Muslim holiday Eid (or Lebaran, like Indonesians are fond to say),...

Flora and Fauna

Indonesia’s moderate climate throughout the year, its fertile soil brought about by lava, and its minerals found on land and in the sea caused by volcanic eruptions, have made this the ideal habitat for a large number of unique and endemic flora and fauna. Indonesia has among the most diverse variety of species of animal life on land and in the seas found anywhere in the world.Indonesia’s flora and fauna is divided by the “Wallace Line” that runs...

Language

Bahasa Indonesia is the national and official language in the entire country. It is the language of official communication, taught in schools and spoken on television. Most Indonesians today speak at least two languages or more, Bahasa Indonesia and their local language, of which Indonesia counts more than 300 regional languages.Bahasa Indonesia is based on the high Malay language as spoken and written in the Riau Islands, as in the early 19th....

History

Ever since prehistoric times the Indonesian archipelago has been inhabited. Java Man or pithecanthropus erectus (upright apeman) is the oldest known inhabitant here, having lived over a million years ago. Other more recent prehistoric species include the still disputed homo Floresiensis, or the Flores hobbits, dwarf people, who have also made these islands their home.Historically, Chinese chronicles mention that trade between India, China and...

Destinations

Sumatra Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam North Sumatra Riau Riau Archipelago West Sumatra South Sumatra Jambi Bangka Belitung Bengkulu Lampung Java Banten DKI Jakarta West Java Central Java DI Yogyakarta East Java Kalimantan West Kalimantan Central Kalimantan East Kalimantan South Kalimantan Sulawesi North Sulawesi Gorontalo Central Sulawesi South Sulawesi West Sulawesi South East Sulawesi Papua Papua West Papua Maluku North Maluku Maluku Bali Bali The...