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
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
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
Main article: List of national parks of
Indonesia
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.
In Sumbawa,
Mount Tambora with its historical massive volcanic eruption
back in 1815 that produced massive caldera also had gained attention
among hikers. In neighboring island of Flores,
the three-colored volcanic crater-lake of Kelimutu
is also hailed as one of Indonesia's natural wonder and had attracted
visitors worldwide. Puncak Jaya in the Lorentz National Park, the highest mountain in
Indonesia and one of the few mountains with ice caps at the (tropical) equator offers the opportunity of rock
climbing. In Sumatra, there are the remains of a supervolcano
eruption that have created the landscape of Lake
Toba close to Medan in North
Sumatra.
Cultural tourism
Main article: Culture of Indonesia
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.
For Indonesian and foreign visitors that probably unable to visit the
whole of Indonesian provinces,
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in
East Jakarta provides a comprehensive representation of Indonesian culture. Established in
1975 by Tien Suharto, this park displaying
museums, separate pavilions with the collections of Indonesian
architecture, clothing, dances and traditions are all depicted
impeccably.
Ancient temples
Main article: Candi of Indonesia
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
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
Main article: Cuisine of Indonesia
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
Main articles: Fauna of Indonesia and Flora of Indonesia
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
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
Main article: List of national parks of
Indonesia
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.
In Sumbawa,
Mount Tambora with its historical massive volcanic eruption
back in 1815 that produced massive caldera also had gained attention
among hikers. In neighboring island of Flores,
the three-colored volcanic crater-lake of Kelimutu
is also hailed as one of Indonesia's natural wonder and had attracted
visitors worldwide. Puncak Jaya in the Lorentz National Park, the highest mountain in
Indonesia and one of the few mountains with ice caps at the (tropical) equator
offers the opportunity of rock
climbing. In Sumatra, there are the remains of a supervolcano
eruption that have created the landscape of Lake
Toba close to Medan in North
Sumatra.
