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.
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.
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. On Bali, there are about 33 surf spots, from West Bali to East Bali including four on the offshore island of
Nusa Lembongan. 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.
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
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.
Orangutans can be visited in the
Bukit Lawang conservation area. 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
cenderawaish, 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 Rintja, 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 little desert, the upturned boat shaped
Tangkuban Perahu on the outskirts of
Bandung, the most active volcano in Java,
Mount Merapi and the legendary
Krakatau with its new
caldera known as
anak krakatau (the child of Krakatau).
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
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.
From the 3rd century until the 13th century, Hinduism and Buddhism shaped the culture of Indonesia. The best-preserved Buddhist shrine, which was built during the
Sailendra dynasty in the 8th century, is
Borobudur temple in
Central Java. A few kilometers to the southeast is the
Prambanan complex, a Hindu temple built during the second
Mataram dynasty.
Both the
Borobudur and the
Prambanan temple compounds have been listed in the UNESCO
World Heritage list since 1991. In
Bali, where most Hindus live, cultural festivals are major attractions to foreign tourists.
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.
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.
Metropolitan tourism
Metropolitan tourism activities are
shopping,
sightseeing in big cities, and enjoying modern
amusement parks. 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. 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.
