5 Islands to Visit in Indonesia Not Named Bali

While the famed island has its charms, visitors have largely overlooked the rest of this sprawling archipelago’s natural and cultural riches.

So much of Indonesia, such as Bunaken Island near Sulawesi, is relatively undiscovered – for now. Niek van Son. CC BY 2.0

Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands – yet the world’s attention focuses squarely on Bali. Yet, from the enchanting temples of Java to the crystal-clear waters of Raja Ampat, Indonesia’s less-known islands hold endless opportunities for exploration and enlightenment.

An orangutan sighting is all but assured in the jungles surrounding Sumatra’s Bukit Lawang. Hugo van den Bos. CC BY 2.0

Sumatra

Indonesia’s westernmost island offers up excitement and relaxation in equal quantities. The languid shores of Toba, the world’s largest volcanic lake, beckon visitors to its isolated islands, gushing waterfalls and unique Batak subculture. Elsewhere on Sumatra, adventure reigns supreme: track down orangutans in Bukit Lawang, surf mammoth waves on the surrounding Mentawai and Nias Islands or hike up the still-active Mount Sibayak volcano. Travelers can finish by polishing off some of Sumatra’s famously delicious cuisine in Medan and Padang, Indonesia’s most acclaimed culinary capitals.

As phenomenal as Raja Ampat’s diving is, the above-water scenery stuns just as much. Max Mossler. CC BY 2.0

Raja Ampat

Located just off the coast of New Guinea in Indonesia’s far east, this under-the-radar archipelago provides visitors with some of the most pristine reefs in the world. Skilled divers dream of traveling to these idyllic islands for all-but-assured sightings of sharks and manta rays and the discovery of over 1,000 different species of fish and coral. The views on land rival the bounty below, with a hike up Piaynemo Island revealing a dreamscape of verdant forests and crystal-clear waters obscured only by the flight of tropical birds.

The magic of Java best comes alive at Borobudur as the sun rises over the temple. Justine Hong. CC BY 2.0

Java

The world’s most populous island, Java remains the heartbeat of Indonesia. Frenetic and colorful Jakarta is a mixing bowl of Indonesia’s countless cultures as it attracts locals from every island. When the capital’s crush of humanity gets a bit too much, travelers can escape to atmospheric Yogyakarta, renowned as Indonesia’s cultural and artistic capital. Just outside of town are the architectural masterpieces of Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist temple, and Prambanan, Indonesia’s largest Hindu temple. Nature lovers appreciate a morning hike up Mount Bromo, while divers enjoy getaways to the tropical paradise of Karimunjawa.

Komodo dragons can be found nowhere else in the wild other than Flores and its neighboring islands. Adhi Rachdian. CC BY 2.0

Flores

Known by intrepid travelers for its Komodo dragons, Flores gives visitors a glimpse of an untouched Indonesian island tailor-made for adventure. Tracking down the region’s best-known inhabitant is a must, but travelers would be remiss to skip Flores’ less popular attractions. Padar Island’s coves alternate between white, black and pink sand, with their gorgeous beaches offering the perfect respite after a long day of trekking. Mount Kelimutu also revels in multihued splendor, with the volcano’s three lakes ranging in color from an intense red to cool shades of green and blue. Intense hikers will adore the overnight trek to Wae Rebo, an excursion through dense jungles to a traditional village set up by the Manggarai tribe.

Funeral ceremonies in Tana Toraja are a cause for celebration, as death is the most revered state of one’s life. Arian Zwegers. CC BY 2.0

Sulawesi

Sulawesi holds an incredibly broad array of activities within its oddly shaped borders. The clear highlight is Tana Toraja, a highland region studded with rice paddies and filled with houses bearing a close resemblance to boats. The area is home to the world's most elaborate and celebratory funeral rituals, which mesmerize all who attend. Visitors take a bumpy ride into the jungles of Lore Lindu National Park to discover monkeys, snakes, and tropical flora and fauna that remain untouched by the outside world. A journey to Rammang Rammang passes by the sweeping limestone cliffs of the world’s third largest “stone garden,” and the Togean, Wakatobi and Bunaken Islands further entice with world-class diving opportunities.

Stephen Kenney

is a Journalism and Political Science double major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He enjoys sharing his passion for geography with others by writing compelling stories from across the globe. In his free time, Stephen enjoys reading, long-distance running and rooting for the Tar Heels.

Nearly Extinct Rhino Species Found Only in Indonesia

The Javan Rhinoceros is one of the world’s most endangered species, with only sixty remaining in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park. 

Javan rhino. Courtesy of Indonesian Ministry of Environment/Forestry.

Javan Rhinoceroses used to be common throughout the continent of Asia, until poaching and habitat loss dwindled the population down to what is now a mere 60-68 rhinos, all found in Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia. The poaching of Javan rhinos largely began in colonial times, with the animal being a trophy for hunters. Now, the rhinos are poached primarily for their horns, which are extremely expensive and are sometimes used as status symbols among the extremely wealthy. Javan rhinos were declared extinct in Vietnam in 2010, when the last rhino in the country was poached, and now the only surviving Javan rhinos exist in Indonesia. 

While poaching Javan rhinos is illegal, and they are considered a protected endangered species, reviving the population presents a major challenge for two main reasons. The first is that the extremely small number of surviving Javan rhinos doesn’t allow for much genetic diversity. The second issue is habitat loss as a result of both human intervention and natural disaster. Human activity near Ujung Kulon National Park has interfered with the rhinos’ natural habitats, and the push  for more property development in the area threatens the security of the park. In terms of natural disasters threatening the rhinos’ last remaining habitat, the national park is located in an area that is susceptible to tsunamis and rising water levels as a result of climate change, and also happens to be near an active volcano, Anak Krakatau. Many conservationists are extremely nervous that if one of these natural disasters occured, all hope would be lost for the species even if there were a few survivors, because of the already miniscule genetic diversity within the population. 

A member of the Rhino Protection Unit measures a Javan rhino’s footprint in Ujung Kulon National Park. U.S. Department of State. CC BY 2.0.

Even without the threat of natural disaster and human interference, Javan rhinos face an existing setback within their protected habitat. An invasive species called Arenga Palm grows in Ujung Kulon National Park. This plant blocks the sun, which prevents the plants that the rhinos eat from growing. The park has made clearing Arenga Palm a priority, but since it is an invasive species, eliminating it from the park entirely is not an easy task.

Ujung Kulon National Park does offer tours, providing an opportunity to ethically see the nearly extinct rhinos. However, since these tours are meant to be non-invasive, there is no guarantee that a Javan rhino will come into view during your time in the park. With that being said, tourists often see traces of the rhinos, such as footprints, like in the photo featured above. 

Get Involved

The best way to get involved with this issue is to raise awareness and money for organizations working to sustain and increase the population of Javan Rhinoceros. Some of these organizations include World Wildlife, which is working on eliminating Arenga Palm and also hopes to one day transfer some Javan rhinos to an area which is not in the danger zone of the volcano Anak Krakatau. Another good organization to support is the International Rhino Foundation, which works directly with the staff of Ujung Kulon National Park. On a more general level, raising awareness about climate change and supporting organizations which respond to extreme weather is a way to get involved with this issue as well as many others, as climate change has only compounded the plight of the Javan Rhinoceros.

Calliana Leff

Calliana is currently an undergraduate student at Boston University majoring in English and minoring in psychology. She is passionate about sustainability and traveling in an ethical and respectful way. She hopes to continue her writing career and see more of the world after she graduates. 

Indonesian Muslims Protest French President 

Thousands of people gathered at Indonesia’s French Embassy to protest French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron has a history of anti-Muslim rhetoric and recently defended the publication of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad. 

On Nov. 2, thousands of people gathered outside the French Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, to protest French President Emmanuel Macron. 

Macron defended the publication of cartoons that depict the Prophet Muhammad, which many have deemed inflammatory. The cartoons were originally published in the Charlie Hebdo magazine in 2015. They were republished in September to mark the opening of the trial for the 2015 attacks against the magazine’s staff, which were partially motivated by the publication of the cartoons. 

Last month, the cartoons were a topic of discussion in a Paris classroom during a lecture on freedom of expression. After the lecture, on Oct. 16, the teacher who led the class was beheaded by a student enraged by the cartoon being shown in class. In a separate incident on Oct. 29, three people were stabbed to death in the seaside town of Nice by a Tunisian man yelling “Allahu Akbar,” a commonly used phrase meaning “God is greatest.” Though it has an innocuous meaning and is used in a number of day-to-day situations, the phrase has been tarnished by an association with terrorist acts, such as the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack.   

These recent incidents have reinvigorated anti-Muslim sentiment in France, and Macron has been criticized for his comments. Macron told the news site Al-Jazeera that he understands people’s concern over the cartoons, but said that he “will always defend in my country the freedom to speak, to write, to think, to draw.” He maintained his stance that the cartoons were protected under freedom of expression after the beheading of the teacher in October, and has been accused by some of spreading anti-Muslim sentiment in his statements. 

Macron has received criticism for his anti-Muslim rhetoric in the past. On Oct. 2, he called Islam a religion “in crisis” around the world and introduced a plan to push what he termed “Islamist radicalism” out of French education and the public sector. In the same speech, he announced the government’s intention to present a bill strengthening a 1905 law officially separating the church and state in France. 

In Indonesia, the French Embassy was heavily guarded and protected by barbed wire, but over 2,000 people stood outside chanting and holding signs. Protesters displayed banners that read “Macron is the real terrorist,” “Go to hell Macron,” and “Macron is devil” and called for a boycott of French goods. Some protesters stomped on Louis Vuitton bags to demonstrate their rejection of French products. Speakers at the protest demanded that Macron apologize and take back his anti-Muslim comments. They also called for the immediate removal of the French ambassador. 

On Oct. 31, Indonesian President Joko Widodo condemned the terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice while also speaking out against Macron’s defense of the cartoons. Widodo argued that freedom of expression that tarnishes the honor of religious symbols could not be justified and said that “linking religion with terrorist acts is a big mistake.” Muslims in France have repeatedly denounced the terrorist acts. 

Rachel Lynch

is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

Daring Divers: The Superhuman Bajau People of Southeast Asia 

Mastering the seas has long been a task attempted by many seafaring cultures around the world. The Bajau people, however, seem to command the ocean with an unmatched talent. 

Bajau people. johnjodeery. CC BY 2.0.

Wandering the Sulu Sea off the coast of the Philippines, the Bajau people spent the last 1,000 years accumulating an impressive track record for their seafaring ways. Often referred to as “sea nomads” or “sea gypsies,” the Bajau people live almost entirely on houseboats, and only return to land to bury their dead, trade, construct their houseboats, and wait out sea storms. This ethnic group sails the waters around Indonesia and Malaysia as well, which are highly congested with piracy; the Bajau people usually flee from attack instead of choosing combat. Because they live solely on the waters, the ethnic group does not have any official affiliation with neighboring countries. 

Houseboat of the Bajau people. Yanajin33. CC BY-SA 4.0.

The exact origins of the Bajau people are unknown, but it is presumed that they are of a Malay background. Most of their known background is contained in oral history, with much of it being unraveled through folklore. One story of their origin recounts the tale of a man named Bajau who was known to displace the water in rivers using his body mass. It is told that villagers then followed him to easily collect the fish that were left behind. Envy of his people’s large fish hauls raged among neighboring tribes, but all attempts to kill Bajau were unsuccessful. His people then thrived and became the rulers of the oceans that they are today. 

Bajau children. Education Projects for Children in Sabah. CC BY 2.0.

The Bajau people are famous for their incredible fishing expertise, with specific mastery of diving. Researchers have observed Bajau divers reaching depths of over 230 feet and remaining underwater for several minutes at a time. Yet, the most surprising aspect of their expertise is that it is completely unaided; the Bajau people do not use wetsuits or advanced diving technology. They rely solely on wooden goggles and makeshift spears, but display unparalleled precision in spearfishing. Master divers spend about five hours a day underwater and catch almost 20 pounds of fish and other elusive marine life. 

Although most of the Bajau people’s skill comes from endless hours of practice, scientists have found that their bodies adapted to their active lifestyle. The Bajau people are found to have spleens larger than the average human, which researchers conclude is due to their long diving hours. The spleen stores red blood cells needed in oxygen retention, so larger spleens correlate positively with intense diving. Other studies have found that they also possess different variants of genes that assist in long dives, such as that of BDKRB2 which is linked to the rate in which oxygen spreads throughout the body. 

Little can be traced of the origins of the Bajau people, but they surely hold a steady future in being uncontested overlords of the oceans.

Ella Nguyen

is an undergraduate student at Vassar College pursuing a degree in Hispanic Studies. She wants to assist in the field of immigration law and hopes to utilize Spanish in her future projects. In her free time she enjoys cooking, writing poetry, and learning about cosmetics.

TALES OF A FEMALE SOLO ADVENTURER: Getting Off the Beaten Path

I grew up in a loving and somewhat free-spirited Canadian family. Our nomadic wanderings throughout western and northern Canada set the foundation for a life of global adventure, with my first flight from the nest being to the Central African Republic when I was 17. I spent a year there learning the local language and traveling to some of the most remote areas of that beautiful country. That was it. I was hooked on travel. I’m still going strong almost 30 years and four continents later. I relish the freedom of backpacking, but also love really living in another country and planting roots for several years. I enjoy the uniqueness of each place I visit yet what I love even more are the connections that prove the undeniable unity of the human race.

After raising three amazing children across several countries, they have all moved out and I’m solo once again. I’m currently based out of India’s Tamil Nadu state, where I focus my free time on the “3 Ts”: Travel, Trekking and Trail-running. I find solo adventuring so empowering because it allows me to test my limits and see how far I can go. Being a woman on my own I definitely take precautions, but I chose not to live in fear of what might happen. Instead, I focus on the positive and so far it's been a great journey. Photography is a recent hobby. I’m a nature lover who seeks out those “holy shit” moments of beauty that come from getting off the beaten path. 

“Home” in western Canada. During my last visit I enjoyed camping and running the trails along the Green River. This area is just a couple hours outside of Vancouver but you couldn’t feel farther from the city. And yes, that water is cold!

I’m always looking for new trails. I scan Google Maps, throw on my hydration vest and go explore. This is a small track running through rural farmland in Tamil Nadu. When I’m not traveling I’m out there seeing how far my legs will take me.

Wayanad in India’s Kerala state is an amazing place to just wander. It is so wild and lush. Every day I was there I would take a local bus and jump out when it looked interesting. Then I would take the trails up to the tea plantations and down into steamy, forested valleys. The great thing about India is that it has a good public transport system. It doesn’t matter how far or which direction my feet carry me; I will eventually find another bus to take me back to where I started.


Sometimes when you travel you stumble across the perfect moment. This was one in Mingun, Myanmar.

In January 2020 I spent a month exploring Myanmar. This photo was taken at the end of an epic section of trail. I spent three days walking from Kalaw to Inle Lake. Here, I’m taking a longboat across Inle Lake to get from the end of the trail to the nearest town where the luxury of a hot shower awaited me.

No hotels, no restaurants. I slept in small villages with local families who offered food and shelter. These are communal sleeping quarters up in the mountains of central Myanmar. When you are climbing up and down mountains all day, I can’t tell you how good it feels to be given a hot meal and a place to rest your weary bones. 

Pokhara, Nepal, is an awesome place to explore even if you opt not to do the big overnight treks in the mountains. I asked many locals and they all told me that you could not circumnavigate Phewa Lake. I kept staring at Google Maps and thinking, “I’m sure I can!” The issue was getting across the valley floor. There is a section where there is no track at all. One day I saw a farmer wade through the rice paddies and I did the same, mud up to my knees in places. Once I got across the valley, as I had seen on Google Maps, there was “trail” all the way around. I arrived back in Pokhara nine hours later, feet full of leeches but with a happy heart. 

The artist in me gets very excited about local handicrafts. I love seeing creative expression around the world. This teenage boy was oblivious of me as he patiently labored away at this masterpiece in Bagan, Myanmar.

I have been blessed with close encounters with many amazing animals. I never chase after them but enjoy when they approach me. These are Nilgiri tahr, an endangered species that inhabits the Eravikulam National Park in southern India. I was sitting on a rock and they stepped right over me and decided to hang out. I was all by myself up in the hills and it was such a magical moment.

I love a good storm! Something about the energy of the shifting skies is so invigorating. This is on the backwaters just south of Chennai, India, overlooking the Bay of Bengal.

Just outside of Kunchithanny in Kerala, India, I spent a week wandering in the mountains. I talked to locals to scope out good trails and, armed with screenshots from my trusty Google Maps, I headed out early each morning. This is one of my favorite places to trek. I can cover 15 miles by noon. The climbs are steep but well worth it. I met families at my guesthouse who spent three hours in traffic jams to catch a glimpse of the popular waterfalls outside of Munnar; meanwhile, I saw at least 20 falls and had them all to myself. This area is so welcoming. Several families brought me into their homes for food and rest. I can’t wait to go back.

Monks feeding carp in Hpa-An, southern Myanmar. This was such a magical day. First I offered a prayer to all my loved ones atop the rock tower at the pagoda in the middle of this pond. Later that day I did my hardest climb in Myanmar. I climbed to the highest point in the mountains seen in the background. It was an extremely steep vertical climb. Rough steps had been carved out of the rock but they were narrow. In places, I had to lift my leg up higher than my knees to reach the next step. It is typically a three to four hour hike. I wanted to catch the sunset so I powered up it in an hour and 20 minutes. I made it just in time and then descended in 45 minutes. When I finished, my legs were shaking and spasming uncontrollably. It actually felt great having pushed past what I thought my body was capable of.

In Ubud on the Indonesian island of Bali I would wake up at 4 a.m. and run up the mountain peaks in the dark to catch the sunrise from the mountaintops. This is where I started really building my confidence running solo in the wilderness. I wish this photo could convey the incredible birdsong that accompanied each daybreak.

My daily runs here in Tamil Nadu often involve weaving through crowds of these guys. I’m up early to catch the sunrise and enjoy South India in all her beauty.

I have learned to read the landscape, tune into my surroundings and listen to my own body. All of this has given me the freedom to keep living my best life. No regrets.

If you want to keep up to date with my adventures, follow me on Instagram @dawned_onme or check out my blog, bigbeautiful.world, to see more of my past wanderings.

Dawn Lwakila

continually takes the path less trodden, both figuratively and literally. She loves to really live in a place and grow some roots there — as well as a good wander and the freedom to explore. Canada is her homeland, but her heart and soul is scattered across the globe. She has journeyed through over 30 countries and still has an ever-growing bucket list of new places to experience.