Indonesia – Travel guide at Wikivoyage

COVID-19 information: Indonesia restricts entry and transit for all foreign visitors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. See the Get In section for more information.

A reduced social interaction action is implemented across the country. Entering many establishments and intercity travel requires evidence of vaccination or recovery through the tracing app PeduliLindungi. It is required to wear a face mask whenever you are not at your home, and in large cities, this is strictly enforced, with monetary or corporal consequences for disobedience. A negative test is also compulsory for inter-island travel, intercity travel with public transportation, and in some cases for entry to specific destinations.(Information last updated 20 Sep 2021)

Indonesia is a huge archipelago of diverse islands scattered over both sides of the Equator between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. With an extensive, but quickly carved out amount of green forests on all of its islands and halfway between the poles, Indonesia is nicknamed The Emerald of the Equator.Regions[edit]

The nation of Indonesia is almost unimaginably vast: More than 18,000 islands providing 108,000 km of beaches.The distance between Aceh in the west and Papua in the east is 4,702 km (2,500 mi), comparable to the distance between New York City and San Francisco.Lying on the western rim of the Ring of Fire, Indonesia has more than 400 volcanoes, of which 129 are considered active, as well as many undersea volcanoes. The island of New Guinea (on which the Indonesian province of Papua is located) is the second-largest island in the world, Borneo (about 2/3 Indonesian, with the rest belonging to Malaysia and Brunei) is the third-largest, and Sumatra is the sixth-largest.

Travellers to Indonesia tend to have Bali at the top of their mind as their reason to visit, which is a shame given there are even more breathtaking natural beauty and cultural experiences elsewhere that are waiting to be explored. The vastness of the estate and the variety of islands offer significant cultural differences that are worth sensing.

Most of the 34 provinces are composed of a group of smaller islands (East & West Nusa Tenggara, Maluku), or divide up a larger island and its outlying islands into pieces (Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, Sulawesi, Papua). The listing below follows a simpler practice of putting together several provinces in one region, except with Bali, which is treated as a separate region in Wikivoyage.

 Sumatra (incl. the Riau Islands and Bangka-Belitung)Wild and rugged, the sixth-largest island in the world has a great natural and cultural wealth with more than 40 million inhabitants and is the habitat for many endangered species. This is where you can find Aceh, Palembang, Padang, Lampung and Medan, as well as the multi-coloured Lake Toba in the land of the outspoken Toba Batak and Indonesia's gateway island, Batam. Kalimantan (Borneo)The vast majority of Borneo, the world's third-largest island, forms Kalimantan (with the remainder belonging to Malaysia and Brunei). An explorer's paradise for the uncharted (but quickly disappearing) forest, mighty rivers, the indigenous Dayak tribe, and home to most of the orangutans. The cities of Pontianak, Banjarmasin, and Balikpapan are some of the fastest growing in the nation. Bali By far the most popular tourist destination and has the most complete facilities for all kinds of tourists in Indonesia. Bali's blend of unique Hindu culture, legendary beaches, numerous religious and historical sites, spectacular highland regions and unique underwater life make it a perennial favourite amongst global travellers. Sulawesi (Celebes)Strangely shaped, this island houses a diversity of societies and some spectacular scenery. This includes the Toraja culture, megalithic civilisation in Lore Lindu National Park, rich flora and fauna, and world-class diving sites like Bunaken and Bitung. Nusa Tenggara (NT) Also known as the Lesser Sunda Islands — literally the "Southeast Islands" — they are divided into East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara and contain scores of ethnic groups, languages and religions, as well as Komodo lizards and more spectacular diving.West NT contains Lombok and Sumbawa and many small islands.Lombok is the less-visited but equally interesting sister of Bali and offers several diving sites as well as historical and religious locations.East NT contains Flores, Sumba and West Timor as well as several other islands, including Komodo Island, home of the Komodo dragon, and offers the unique attraction of containing tiny kingdoms on Sumba. Traditional art in East NT, especially woven cloth, is interesting and reasonably priced, and you can find beaches that are literally covered with sand of unique colours, coral, and shells. Maluku (Moluccas)The historic Spice Islands, formerly much fought over by colonial powers, are now seldom visited, but Ambon, the Banda Islands and the Kei Islands are promising destinations for marine tourism. Papua (Irian Jaya)The western half of the island of New Guinea, with mountains, forests, swamps and an almost impenetrable wilderness in one of the remotest places on earth.Aside from the gold and copper mining in the area of Freeport, this is probably one of the most pristine parts of the country, and scientists have discovered previously unknown species here.Cities[edit]

1 Jakarta — the perennially congested capital which is also the largest city in the country2 Bandung — university town in the cooler highlands of Java3 Banjarmasin — a cultural hub of Kalimantan4 Jayapura — the capital of Papua and a gateway to the highlands5 Kuta — with its great beaches and exciting nightlife, Kuta is yet another reason for visiting Bali6 Makassar (Ujung Pandang) — the gateway to Sulawesi and home of the regionally famous Bugis seafarers7 Medan — the diverse main city of Sumatra and gateway to Lake Toba and the rest of the Batak land8 Surabaya — a very active port that is the capital of East Java and the second-largest city in the country9 Yogyakarta — central Java's cultural hub and the access point to the mighty temples of Prambanan and BorobudurOther destinations[edit]

The following is a limited selection of some of Indonesia's top sights.1 Baliem Valley — superb trekking into the lands of the Lani, Dani and Yali tribes in remote Papua2 Borobudur — one of the largest Buddhist temples in the world located in Central Java province; often combined with a visit to the equally impressive Hindu ruins at nearby Prambanan3 Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park — some of the scariest volcanic scenery on the planet and one of the best locations in the world to see the sunrise4 Bunaken — one of the best scuba diving destinations in Indonesia, if not the world5 Kerinci Seblat National Park — tigers, elephants, and monstrous rafflesia flowers in this huge expanse of forest in Sumatra6 Komodo National Park — home of the Komodo dragon and a hugely important marine ecosystem7 Lake Toba — the largest volcanic lake in the world8 Lombok — popular island to east of Bali with the tiny laid-back Gili Islands and mighty Mount Rinjani9 Tana Toraja — highland area of Southern Sulawesi famed for extraordinary funeral ritesUnderstand[edit]CapitalJakartaCurrencyrupiah (IDR)Population270.6 million (2019)Electricity127 volt / 50 hertz and 230 volt / 50 hertz (Europlug, Schuko)Country code+62Time zoneIndonesia Western Standard Time to Indonesia Central Standard Time and Asia/Pontianak, Asia/Makassar, Asia/JayapuraEmergencies112Driving sideleft

With 18,330 islands, 6,000 of them inhabited, Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. To imagine how vast Indonesia is, Indonesia stretches from west to east as wide as the USA or Western and Eastern Europe combined, yet more than two thirds of the area is sea water.

With more than 260 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world — after China, India and the USA — and by far the largest in Southeast Asia.