Historical context
Initially the tourism, service and hospitality sector in
Dutch East Indies were developed to cater the lodging,
entertainment and leisure needs of domestic visitors, especially the
wealthy Dutch plantation owners and merchants during their stay in the
city. In 19th century, colonial heritage hotels equipped with dance
hall, live musics and fine dining restaurant were established in Dutch
East Indies urban areas, such as
Hotel des Indes (est. 1829) in
Jakarta,
Savoy Homann Hotel (est. 1871)
in Bandung, and
Hotel Oranje (est. 1910) in Surabaya. Much
of the international tourism of the 1920s and 1930s was by international
visitors on oceanic cruises. The 1930s did see a modest but significant
influx of mainly European tourists and longer term stayers to Bali.
Many came for the blossoming arts scene in the
Ubud area,
which was as much a two-way exchange between the Balinese and outsiders
as it was an internal phenomenon.
[18]
Tourism more or less disappeared during
World
War II,
Indonesian National Revolution
and in the early years of the
Sukarno
era. National pride and identity in the late 1950s and early 1960s was
incorporated into the monumentalism of Sukarno in
Jakarta —
and this included the development of grand multi-storied international
standard hotels and beach resorts, such as
Hotel Indonesia in Jakarta (est. 1962), Ambarrukmo Hotel
in Yogyakarta (est. 1965), Samudra Beach Hotel in Pelabuhan Ratu beach
West Java (est. 1966), and Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Bali (est.
1966). The political and economic instability of the mid-1960s saw
tourism decline radically again. Bali, and in particular the small
village of
Kuta,
was however, in the 1960s, an important
stopover on the overland hippy trail between
Australia
and Europe, and a "secret" untouched surf spot.
[19]
In the early-to-mid 1970s, high standard hotels and tourist facilities
began to appear in Jakarta and Bali. After the completion of
Borobudur
restoration project in 1982,
Yogyakarta become a
popular tourist attraction in Indonesia after Bali, mostly attracted to
this 8th century Buddhist monument, surrounding ancient Javanese temples
and
Yogyakarta Sultanate palace. From this period to the end of the
Suharto
era, governmental policies of the
tourism industry included an array of
regulations and developments to encourage increasing numbers of
international tourists to both visit Indonesia and stay longer.
Tourists attractions
Nature tourism
Raja Ampat, one of the world's richest marine
biodiversity
Indonesia has a well-preserved, natural ecosystem with
rainforests that stretch over about 57% of
Indonesia's land (225 million acres), approximately 2% of which are
mangrove
systems.
One reason why the natural ecosystem in
Indonesia
is still well-preserved is because only 6,000
islands out of 17,000 are permanently inhabited.
Forests on
Sumatra and
Java are
examples of popular tourist destinations. Moreover, Indonesia has one of
longest coastlines in the world, measuring 54,716 kilometres (33,999
mi),
with a number of
beaches and island resorts, such as those in southern
Bali,
Lombok,
Bintan and
Nias Island.
However, most of the well-preserved beaches are those in more isolated
and less developed areas, such as
Karimunjawa, the
Togian Islands, and the
Banda
Islands.
Dive sites
With more than 17,508
islands, Indonesia presents ample diving
opportunities. With 20% of the world's coral reefs, over 3,000 different
species of fish and 600 coral species, deep water trenches, volcanic
sea mounts, World War II wrecks, and an endless variety of macro life,
scuba diving in Indonesia is both excellent and inexpensive.
Bunaken National Marine Park, at the
northern tip of
Sulawesi, claims to have seven times more genera of
coral
than
Hawaii,and has more than 70% of all the known fish species of the Indo-Western
Pacific.
According to
Conservation International,
marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the
Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on
Earth.
Moreover, there are over 3,500
species
living in Indonesian waters, including
sharks,
dolphins,
manta
rays,
turtles,
morays,
cuttlefish,
octopus
and
scorpionfish, compared to
1,500 on the
Great Barrier Reef and 600 in the
Red Sea.
Tulamben
Bay in
Bali
boasts the wreck of the 120 metres (390 ft)
U.S. Army commissioned transport vessel, the
Liberty.
Other popular dive sites on Bali are at
Candidasa and
Menjangan. Across the
Badung
Strait from Bali, there are several popular dive sites on
Nusa Lembongan and
Nusa
Penida.
Lombok's three
Gilis
(
Gili
Air,
Gili Meno and
Gili Trawangan) are popular as is
Bangka.
Some of the most famous diving sites in Indonesia are also the most
difficult to reach, with places like
Biak off the
coast of Papua and the
Alor Archipelago among the popular, more remote,
destinations for divers.
Surf breaks
Surfing in Kuta beach, Bali
Surfing
is also a popular water activity in Indonesia and the sites are
recognised as world class.
The well-known spots are mostly located on the southern,
Indian
Ocean side of Indonesia, for example, the large oceanic surf breaks
on southern
Java.
However, the north coast does not receive the same surf from the
Java Sea.
Surf breaks can be found all the way along
Sumatra,
down to Nusa Tenggara, including
Aceh, Bali,
Banten,
Java,
Lombok,
the
Mentawai Islands, and
Sumbawa.
Although Indonesia has many world-class surfing spots, the majority of
surfers are came from abroad, especially Australia and United States.
However, the seed of local surfing enthusiast began develop in Bali and
West Java's
Pelabuhan Ratu and
Pangandaran
beach, mostly came from nearby cities of Jakarta and Bandung. On Bali,
there are about 33 surf spots, from West Bali to East Bali including
four on the offshore island of
Nusa Lembongan. In Sumbawa, Hu'u and Lakey Beach in
Cempi
Bay is popular surfing spots among surfing enthusiast. Sumatra is
the second island with the most number of surf spots, with 18
altogether. The common time for surfing is around May to September with
the trade winds blowing from east to south-east. From October to April,
winds tend to come from the west to north-west, so the east coast breaks
get the offshore winds.
[citation needed]
Two well-known surf breaks in Indonesia are the
G-Land in
the Bay of Grajagan,
East Java, and
Lagundri
Bay at the southern end of
Nias island.
G-Land was first identified in 1972, when a surfer saw the break from
the window of a plane. Since 6 to 8 foot (
Hawaiian scale) waves were discovered by surfers at Lagundri
Bay in 1975, the island has become famous for surfing worldwide.
National parks
Bogor Botanical Gardens established
in 1817, and
Cibodas Botanical
Gardens established in 1862, is one of the oldest botanical gardens
in Asia. With rich collections of tropical plants, these gardens is the
center of botanical research as well as tourism attraction since
colonial era.
There are 50 national parks in Indonesia, of which six are
World Heritage listed. The
largest national parks in
Sumatra are the 9,500-square-kilometre
(3,700 sq mi)
Gunung Leuser National Park, the
13,750-square-kilometre (5,310 sq mi)
Kerinci Seblat National Park
and the 3,568-square-kilometre (1,378 sq mi)
Bukit Barisan Selatan
National Park, all three recognised as
Tropical Rainforest
Heritage of Sumatra on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Other
national parks on the list are
Lorentz National Park in
Papua,
Komodo National Park in the
Lesser Sunda Islands, and
Ujung Kulon National Park in the
west of
Java.
To be noticed, different national parks offer different biodiversity,
as the natural habitat in Indonesia is divided into two areas by the
Wallace line. The
Wallacea
biogeographical
distinction means the western part of Indonesia (Sumatra, Java,
Kalimantan) have the same flora and fauna characteristics as the
Asian
continent, whilst the remaining eastern part of Indonesia has similarity
with the Australian continent.
Many native species such as
Sumatran elephants,
Sumatran tigers,
Sumatran rhinoceros,
Javan rhinoceros and
Orangutans are listed as
endangered or
critically endangered,
and the remaining populations are found in
national parks and other
conservation areas.
Sumatran orangutan can be visited in the
Bukit
Lawang conservation area, while the
Bornean orangutan can be visited in
Tanjung Puting national park, Central Kalimantan. The
world’s largest flower,
rafflesia arnoldi, and the tallest
flower,
titan arum, can be found in Sumatra.
The east side of the Wallacea line offers the most remarkable,
rarest, and exotic animals on earth.
Birds of Paradise, locally known as
cendrawasih, are plumed birds that can be found among other
fauna in Papua New Guinea. The largest bird in Papua is
the flightless
cassowary. One species of
lizard,
the
Komodo dragon can easily be found on
Komodo, located in the Nusa Tenggara lesser islands
region. Besides Komodo island, this endangered species can also be found
on the islands of Rinca, Padar and Flores.
Volcanoes
Hiking
and
camping
in the mountains are popular adventure activities. Some mountains
contain ridge rivers, offering
rafting
activity. Though
volcanic mountains can be
dangerous, they have become major tourist destinations. Several tourists
have died on the slopes of
Mount
Rinjani, Indonesia's second highest volcano and a popular
destination for climbers visiting Lombok in eastern Indonesia. Popular
active volcanoes are the 2,329-metre (7,641 ft) high
Mount
Bromo in the
East Java province with its scenic volcanic desert
around the crater, the upturned boat shaped
Tangkuban Perahu and the volcanic crater
Kawah
Putih, north and south of
Bandung
respectively and both with drive-in access up to the crater, the most
active volcano in Java,
Mount
Merapi near
Yogyakarta, and the legendary
Krakatau with its new
caldera
known as
anak krakatau (the child of Krakatau).
Gede Pangrango volcano
in West Java is also a popular hiking destination, especially among
domestic hikers.
Cultural tourism
Bali is
famous for its rich culture, Hindu festivals and
dances
Indonesia consists of an entire 300
ethnic groups, spread over a 1.8 million km²
area of 6,000 inhabited islands.This creates a cultural diversity, further compounded by
Hindu,
Buddhist,
Islamic
and European colonialist influences. In
Bali, where
most of Indonesian Hindus live, cultural and religious festivals with
Balinese dance-drama performances in
Balinese temples are major attractions
to foreign tourists.
Despite foreign influences, a diverse array of indigenous traditional
cultures is still evident in Indonesia. The indigenous ethnic group of
Toraja in
South Sulawesi, which still has strong
animistic
beliefs, offers a unique cultural tradition, especially during funeral
rituals. The
Minangkabau ethic group retain a unique
matrilineal culture, despite being devoted
Muslims.
Other indigenous ethnic groups include the
Asmat
and
Dani in
Papua, the
Dayak
in
Kalimantan
and the
Mentawai in
Sumatra,
where traditional rituals are still observed.
A discussion of cultural tourism is not complete without a mention of
Yogyakarta,
a special province in Indonesia known as centre of classical Javanese
fine art and culture.The rise and fall of Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic kingdoms in Central
Java has transformed Yogyakarta into a melting pot of Indonesian
culture.
Most of Indonesian major cities have their state-owned museums,
although most are in modest display. The most complete and comprehensive
museum that displaying Indonesian culture and history spanned from
prehistoric to colonial era is
National Museum of Indonesia
located in Jakarta.
Ancient temples
From the 4th century until the 15th century, Hinduism and Buddhism
shaped the culture of Indonesia. Kingdoms rise and fall, such as
Medang Kingdom,
Srivijaya,
Kediri,
Singhasari
and
Majapahit.
Along the Indonesian classical history of Hindu-Buddhist era, they
produced some temples and monuments called
candi. The
best-preserved Buddhist shrine, which was built during the
Sailendra
dynasty in the 8th century, is
Borobudur
temple in
Central Java. A giant stone
mandala
stepped pyramid adorned with bell-shaped
stupas,
richly adorned with bas-reliefs telling the stories and teachings of
Buddha.
A few kilometers to the southeast is the
Prambanan
complex, the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia built during the second
Mataram dynasty.
The Prambanan temple is dedicated to
Trimurti;
Shiva,
Vishnu
and
Brahma,
three highest gods in Hinduism. Both the
Borobudur
and the
Prambanan temple compounds have been listed in the
UNESCO
World Heritage list since
1991. Both temple are the largest and the most popular, conveniently
accessible from
Yogyakarta, the heartland of Javanese culture.
The
Ramayana
Javanese dance is performed routinely on the stage near
Prambanan temple, provides the visitors the glimpse of Javanese
classical culture.
In and around Yogyakarta, the ancient Javanese archaeology and temple
enthusiast may still discover numerous ancient temples, accessible by
car or motorcycle. Although not as grand and popular as Borobudur and
Prambanan, these smaller temples provides glimpse of ancient culture and
the intricate details of ancient Java temple architecture.
Mendut and
Pawon
temples are located in
Kedu Plain near Borobudur, while
Ratu
Boko,
Sewu,
Lumbung,
Plaosan,
Kalasan, and
Sari are located in
Prambanan Plain near Prambanan temple.
The temples of
East Java dated from the era of
Singhasari
and
Majapahit;
mostly located in
Trowulan archaeological site, and also scattered
around
Blitar
and
Malang.
Although not as grand and popular as the temples of Central Java, the
East Javanese temples is also interesting destination for candi and
Indonesian ancient history enthusiast.
Most of major Indonesian archaeological sites are equipped with
museums; such as
Samudra Raksa Museum and
Karmawibhangga
Museum in Borobudur, Prambanan museum in Prambanan temple
compounds, and
Trowulan Museum located in former Majapahit
capital of Trowulan archaeological site. Some of archaeological
discoveries are also displayed in municipal museums, such as
Sonobudoyo
Museum in Yogyakarta and
Radyapustaka
Museum in Surakarta, and of course the Indonesian National Museum
in Jakarta.
Islamic heritage
Islam has also contributed greatly to the cultural society in
Indonesia. As of 2006, 88% of Indonesia's recorded population were
Muslim.
Islamic culture is prominent in
Sumatra,
and a few of the remaining
sultanate palaces can be seen in
Medan and
Tanjung Pinang.
The Islamic heritage tourism is also popular, especially among
Indonesian Muslims and Muslims from neighboring countries such as
Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei that shared common Southeast Asian
Islamic heritage. The activity usually linked with Islamic
ziyarat
pilgrimage to historical Islamic sites, such as historical mosques and
tombs of venerated Islamic figures. However for visitors in Islamic
sites, either local or foreign, Muslim or non-Muslim, the rules of
conduct and dress modesty is applied, such as removing the footwear
while entering mosques or
makam (tombs), visitor should not
entering the site wearing shorts (
sarong
usually lended near the entrance to cover lower torso of the visitors),
and wearing
kerudung (head-dress covering) for women.
In
Aceh
the
Baiturrahman Grand Mosque and
tombs of
Aceh Sultanate kings is popular destination,
while in
Medan
the Medan Great Mosque and
Maimun Palace is also major Islamic heritage
destination. Most of Indonesian major cities have their own historical
or monumental
Masjid Agung (Grand Mosque) that become city's
landmark as well as tourism attraction.
Istiqlal mosque, the Indonesian national
mosque and the largest in Southeast Asia is Jakarta's major landmark as
well as tourist attraction. In Java the ziyarat pilgrimage is usually
linked to historically important Islamic figures of
Wali
Sanga (Nine Saints), they are important because of their historic
role in the
Spread of Islam in Indonesia.
Their tombs and mosques scaterred along Java's north coast towns, such
as
Demak,
Kudus,
Cirebon,
Gresik, to Ampel in
Surabaya.
The 15th century
Agung Demak Mosque hailed as the
first mosque established in Java.
Menara Kudus Mosque is notable for incorporating
Majapahit Hindu-Javanese architecture. The tomb of
Sunan Gunungjati near Cirebon, is also the important
ziyarat site in West Java.
Colonial heritage
The heritage tourism is focussed on specific interest on
Indonesian history, such as colonial
architectural heritage of Dutch East Indies era in Indonesia. The
colonial heritage tourism mostly attracted visitors from the
Netherlands
that share historical ties with Indonesia, as well as Indonesian or
foreign colonial history enthusiast.
The activities among others are visiting museums, churches, forts and
historical colonial buildings, as well as spend some nights in colonial
heritage hotels. The popular heritage tourism attractions is
Kota
— the center of old Jakarta, with its
Maritime Museum, Kota Intan
drawbridge,
Gereja Sion,
Wayang
Museum,
Stadhuis Batavia,
Fine Art and Ceramic Museum
(Former Court of Justice of Batavia), Toko Merah (Red Store), Bank
Indonesia Museum, Bank Mandiri Museum,
Jakarta Kota Station, and Glodok (Jakarta Chinatown).
In the old ports of
Sunda Kelapa in Jakarta and Paotere in Makassar
the tall masted
pinisi ship still sailed. The
Jakarta Cathedral with neo-gothic architecture in Central
Jakarta also attracted architecture enthusiast.
Bandung historical avenue around Asia Afrika and
Braga
Street displays rich collections of Indies and
Art deco architecture from early 20th century.
Several hotels such as Savoy Homann in Bandung and
Hotel Majapahit in Surabaya are colonial heritage hotels
suitable for those whom interested in Dutch East Indies colonial
history. The
VOC forts can be found in
Yogyakarta, Makassar,
Bengkulu and
Ambon.
The colonial buildings might also be found in old town parts of
Indonesian cities, such as
Semarang,
Surabaya,
Malang,
and Medan. The heritage tourism might also focussed on the era of 17th
to 19th century royal Javanese courts of
Yogyakarta Sultanate,
Surakarta Sunanate and
Mangkunegaran.
Metropolitan tourism
Bandung
with its boutiques, distribution stores and factory outlets is well
known by locals and foreign visitors as shopping heaven in Indonesia
Metropolitan tourism activities are
shopping,
sightseeing in big cities, and enjoying modern
amusement parks.
Ancol Dreamland with Dunia Fantasi theme park and
Atlantis Water Adventure is Jakarta's answer to Disneyland-style
amusement park and water park. Several similar theme parks also
developed in other cities, such as
Trans Studio Makassar and
Trans
Studio Bandung. The nation's capital,
Jakarta,
offers many places for shopping.
Mal Kelapa Gading, the biggest one with 130 square
kilometres (50 sq mi),
Plaza
Senayan,
Senayan City,
Grand Indonesia,
EX, and
Plaza Indonesia are some of the
shopping
malls in the city. Next to high-end shopping centers with branded
products, Indonesia is also a popular destination for handicraft
shopping in the region. Certain Indonesian traditional crafts such as
batik,
songket,
ikat
weaving, embroidery, wooden statue and fashion products are popular
souvenirs for visitors. Indonesian textile and fashion products are
known for its good value; good quality with relatively cheap and
reasonable price.
Bandung is a popular shopping destination for
fashion products among Malaysians and Singaporeans.
Another popular tourist activity is
golfing, a favorite sport among the
upper
class Indonesians and foreigners. Some notable golf courses in
Jakarta are the Cengkareng Golf Club, located in the airport complex,
and Pondok Indah Golf and Country Club. Bali has many shopping centers,
for instance, the
Kuta shopping center and the Galeria
Nusa Dua.
Nightlife of
Indonesia is also popular among foreigners, especially in the big cities
like
Jakarta,
Bandung,
Surabaya,
Manado,
Denpasar
and
Medan.
Gastronomy tourism
Example of Balinese cuisine
Indonesia has rich and diverse culinary traditions, and might be
considered as one of the richest and the best in the world; such as
rendang
that recently voted as the number one dish of CNN International 'World’s
50 Most Delicious Foods' list.
Many regional cuisines exist, often based upon
indigenous culture and foreign influences.
Indonesian cuisine varies greatly by region and has many different
influences.
From succulent coconut-milk and curry rich
Minangkabau cuisine
to Oceanian seafood meal of Papuan and Ambonese cuisine. Embarked on a
journey through Indonesian cuisine is as exciting as enjoying the
diversity of Indonesian culture, as some kind of dishes might have
myriad variations of different recipes across archipelago. Some popular
Indonesian dishes such as
nasi
goreng,
sate,
and
soto
are ubiquitous in the country and have numerous regional variations.
These dishes are considered as Indonesian
national
dishes.
Eating establishments in Indonesia are available from the modest
street-side cart vendors, to the luxury fine-dining restaurants. Most of
malls and shopping centres in Indonesian major cities usually have an
entire floor dedicated as a
food
courts, where one could samples rich variety of Indonesian cuisine,
and some Indonesian cities have their own signature dishes. Such as
Mie Aceh,
Padang's
rendang,
Palembang's
pempek,
Jakarta's
soto betawi and
gado-gado,
Bandung's
siomay
and
batagor,
Yogyakarta's
gudeg,
Solo's
tongseng,
Semarang's
lumpia,
Surabaya's
rawon,
Madura's
satay,
Balinese nasi
campur and
babi guling,
Makassar's
konro,
Manado's
tinutuan,
to
Chinese Indonesian mie
goreng. Some exhibitions, fairs and events often also incorporated
eating experiences. Such as
Jakarta
Fair that offer local delicacies as well as food products from
various corners of Indonesia, or Jakarta Fashion & Food Festival
(JFFF) that feature food and fashion.
Initially the tourism, service and hospitality sector in
Dutch East Indies were developed to cater the lodging,
entertainment and leisure needs of domestic visitors, especially the
wealthy Dutch plantation owners and merchants during their stay in the
city. In 19th century, colonial heritage hotels equipped with dance
hall, live musics and fine dining restaurant were established in Dutch
East Indies urban areas, such as
Hotel des Indes (est. 1829) in
Jakarta,
Savoy Homann Hotel (est. 1871)
in Bandung, and
Hotel Oranje (est. 1910) in Surabaya. Much
of the international tourism of the 1920s and 1930s was by international
visitors on oceanic cruises. The 1930s did see a modest but significant
influx of mainly European tourists and longer term stayers to Bali.
Many came for the blossoming arts scene in the
Ubud area,
which was as much a two-way exchange between the Balinese and outsiders
as it was an internal phenomenon.
Tourism more or less disappeared during
World
War II,
Indonesian National Revolution
and in the early years of the
Sukarno
era. National pride and identity in the late 1950s and early 1960s was
incorporated into the monumentalism of Sukarno in
Jakarta —
and this included the development of grand multi-storied international
standard hotels and beach resorts, such as
Hotel Indonesia in Jakarta (est. 1962), Ambarrukmo Hotel
in Yogyakarta (est. 1965), Samudra Beach Hotel in Pelabuhan Ratu beach
West Java (est. 1966), and Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Bali (est.
1966). The political and economic instability of the mid-1960s saw
tourism decline radically again. Bali, and in particular the small
village of
Kuta,
was however, in the 1960s, an important
stopover on the overland hippy trail between
Australia
and Europe, and a "secret" untouched surf spot.
[19]
In the early-to-mid 1970s, high standard hotels and tourist facilities
began to appear in Jakarta and Bali. After the completion of
Borobudur
restoration project in 1982,
Yogyakarta become a
popular tourist attraction in Indonesia after Bali, mostly attracted to
this 8th century Buddhist monument, surrounding ancient Javanese temples
and
Yogyakarta Sultanate palace. From this period to the end of the
Suharto
era, governmental policies of the
tourism industry included an array of
regulations and developments to encourage increasing numbers of
international tourists to both visit Indonesia and stay longer.
Tourists attractions
Nature tourism
Raja Ampat, one of the world's richest marine
biodiversity
Indonesia has a well-preserved, natural ecosystem with
rainforests that stretch over about 57% of
Indonesia's land (225 million acres), approximately 2% of which are
mangrove
systems.
One reason why the natural ecosystem in
Indonesia
is still well-preserved is because only 6,000
islands out of 17,000 are permanently inhabited.
Forests on
Sumatra and
Java are
examples of popular tourist destinations. Moreover, Indonesia has one of
longest coastlines in the world, measuring 54,716 kilometres (33,999
mi),
with a number of
beaches and island resorts, such as those in southern
Bali,
Lombok,
Bintan and
Nias Island.
However, most of the well-preserved beaches are those in more isolated
and less developed areas, such as
Karimunjawa, the
Togian Islands, and the
Banda
Islands.
Dive sites
With more than 17,508
islands, Indonesia presents ample diving
opportunities. With 20% of the world's coral reefs, over 3,000 different
species of fish and 600 coral species, deep water trenches, volcanic
sea mounts, World War II wrecks, and an endless variety of macro life,
scuba diving in Indonesia is both excellent and inexpensive.
Bunaken National Marine Park, at the
northern tip of
Sulawesi, claims to have seven times more genera of
coral
than
Hawaii,
[27]
and has more than 70% of all the known fish species of the Indo-Western
Pacific.
[28]
According to
Conservation International,
marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the
Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on
Earth.
Moreover, there are over 3,500
species
living in Indonesian waters, including
sharks,
dolphins,
manta
rays,
turtles,
morays,
cuttlefish,
octopus
and
scorpionfish, compared to
1,500 on the
Great Barrier Reef and 600 in the
Red Sea.
Tulamben
Bay in
Bali
boasts the wreck of the 120 metres (390 ft)
U.S. Army commissioned transport vessel, the
Liberty.
[31]
Other popular dive sites on Bali are at
Candidasa and
Menjangan. Across the
Badung
Strait from Bali, there are several popular dive sites on
Nusa Lembongan and
Nusa
Penida.
Lombok's three
Gilis
(
Gili
Air,
Gili Meno and
Gili Trawangan) are popular as is
Bangka.
Some of the most famous diving sites in Indonesia are also the most
difficult to reach, with places like
Biak off the
coast of Papua and the
Alor Archipelago among the popular, more remote,
destinations for divers.
Surf breaks
Surfing in Kuta beach, Bali
Surfing
is also a popular water activity in Indonesia and the sites are
recognised as world class.
[32]
The well-known spots are mostly located on the southern,
Indian
Ocean side of Indonesia, for example, the large oceanic surf breaks
on southern
Java.
However, the north coast does not receive the same surf from the
Java Sea.
Surf breaks can be found all the way along
Sumatra,
down to Nusa Tenggara, including
Aceh, Bali,
Banten,
Java,
Lombok,
the
Mentawai Islands, and
Sumbawa.
Although Indonesia has many world-class surfing spots, the majority of
surfers are came from abroad, especially Australia and United States.
However, the seed of local surfing enthusiast began develop in Bali and
West Java's
Pelabuhan Ratu and
Pangandaran
beach, mostly came from nearby cities of Jakarta and Bandung. On Bali,
there are about 33 surf spots, from West Bali to East Bali including
four on the offshore island of
Nusa Lembongan. In Sumbawa, Hu'u and Lakey Beach in
Cempi
Bay is popular surfing spots among surfing enthusiast. Sumatra is
the second island with the most number of surf spots, with 18
altogether. The common time for surfing is around May to September with
the trade winds blowing from east to south-east. From October to April,
winds tend to come from the west to north-west, so the east coast breaks
get the offshore winds.
[citation needed]
Two well-known surf breaks in Indonesia are the
G-Land in
the Bay of Grajagan,
East Java, and
Lagundri
Bay at the southern end of
Nias island.
G-Land was first identified in 1972, when a surfer saw the break from
the window of a plane. Since 6 to 8 foot (
Hawaiian scale) waves were discovered by surfers at Lagundri
Bay in 1975, the island has become famous for surfing worldwide.
[citation needed]
National parks
Bogor Botanical Gardens established
in 1817, and
Cibodas Botanical
Gardens established in 1862, is one of the oldest botanical gardens
in Asia. With rich collections of tropical plants, these gardens is the
center of botanical research as well as tourism attraction since
colonial era.
There are 50 national parks in Indonesia, of which six are
World Heritage listed. The
largest national parks in
Sumatra are the 9,500-square-kilometre
(3,700 sq mi)
Gunung Leuser National Park, the
13,750-square-kilometre (5,310 sq mi)
Kerinci Seblat National Park
and the 3,568-square-kilometre (1,378 sq mi)
Bukit Barisan Selatan
National Park, all three recognised as
Tropical Rainforest
Heritage of Sumatra on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Other
national parks on the list are
Lorentz National Park in
Papua,
Komodo National Park in the
Lesser Sunda Islands, and
Ujung Kulon National Park in the
west of
Java.
To be noticed, different national parks offer different biodiversity,
as the natural habitat in Indonesia is divided into two areas by the
Wallace line. The
Wallacea
biogeographical
distinction means the western part of Indonesia (Sumatra, Java,
Kalimantan) have the same flora and fauna characteristics as the
Asian
continent, whilst the remaining eastern part of Indonesia has similarity
with the Australian continent.
Many native species such as
Sumatran elephants,
Sumatran tigers,
Sumatran rhinoceros,
Javan rhinoceros and
Orangutans are listed as
endangered or
critically endangered,
and the remaining populations are found in
national parks and other
conservation areas.
Sumatran orangutan can be visited in the
Bukit
Lawang conservation area, while the
Bornean orangutan can be visited in
Tanjung Puting national park, Central Kalimantan. The
world’s largest flower,
rafflesia arnoldi, and the tallest
flower,
titan arum, can be found in Sumatra.
The east side of the Wallacea line offers the most remarkable,
rarest, and exotic animals on earth.
Birds of Paradise, locally known as
cendrawasih, are plumed birds that can be found among other
fauna in Papua New Guinea. The largest bird in Papua is
the flightless
cassowary. One species of
lizard,
the
Komodo dragon can easily be found on
Komodo, located in the Nusa Tenggara lesser islands
region. Besides Komodo island, this endangered species can also be found
on the islands of Rinca, Padar and Flores.
Volcanoes
Hiking
and
camping
in the mountains are popular adventure activities. Some mountains
contain ridge rivers, offering
rafting
activity. Though
volcanic mountains can be
dangerous, they have become major tourist destinations. Several tourists
have died on the slopes of
Mount
Rinjani, Indonesia's second highest volcano and a popular
destination for climbers visiting Lombok in eastern Indonesia. Popular
active volcanoes are the 2,329-metre (7,641 ft) high
Mount
Bromo in the
East Java province with its scenic volcanic desert
around the crater, the upturned boat shaped
Tangkuban Perahu and the volcanic crater
Kawah
Putih, north and south of
Bandung
respectively and both with drive-in access up to the crater, the most
active volcano in Java,
Mount
Merapi near
Yogyakarta, and the legendary
Krakatau with its new
caldera
known as
anak krakatau (the child of Krakatau).
Gede Pangrango volcano
in West Java is also a popular hiking destination, especially among
domestic hikers.
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