Right here the modern world is still clawing at the edges of a very traditional one, where lots of people buy food in supermarkets but others hunt it with bows and arrows. On this youngest part of Indonesia very little roads connect the dozen or so towns, and also to travel any distance you need to choose to use the air or the water. In several ways, Papua feels a different country - which is what most Papuans, who are ethnically distinct from other Indonesians. Exploring inside Papua’s interior now will amaze you only with all the charm of the peoples, the resilience of their cultures and the splendour of their landscapes. Nor is awesome every exaggeration for the islands and also beaches all-around Papua’s coasts and the marine life on their own coral reefs. The diversity of life around the Raja Ampat islands, specially, has biologists and scuba divers reaching for ever more original superlatives. Traveling in Papua will be challenging, and never one that comes cheap. But everything you do here is an adventure, and people who take on Papua’s challenge are guaranteed that combination of trepidation and pleasure that only the very best travels are made.
CLIMATE
CULTURE
Papua is known as a land of many cultures - those of the 200-plus local peoples and people of all the immigrants from other regions of Indonesia, who dominate inside the cities now composition over 40% of Papua’s population. Papuans are mostly Christian with traditional animism.
Most well-known ethnic groups of Papua:
Amungme, Asmat, Bauzi, Dani, Kamoro, Kombai, Korowai, Mee, Sentani, Yali, Yei
GETTING THERE
Get to Jakarta, Makassar, Denpasar, Manado or Ambon, and then take an onward domestic flight. Visitors going directly for the Baliem Valley must fly first to Jayapura, that will (blank) served by five airlines from Jakarta and Makassar, and by Garuda from Denpasar. For the Raja Ampat islands, fly to Sorong from Jakarta, Makassar, Ambon or Manado. You can also fly to Manokwari, Biak or Timika from Makassar or Jakarta, and to Fak-Fak from Ambon. Most flights to Papua from Jakarta are overnight, with a small-hours stop in Makassar. The cheapest Jakarta-Jayapura fares at research time, from around 1,500,000Rp one way, were with Batavia Air and Lion Air.
CLIMATE
In (blank), (blank) drier months are from May to November, but all the parts of Papua have some rain year-round. December to April sees roughly twice as much rain monthly in every areas - that could be inconvenient and not comfortable but doesn’t make travel impossible. Sorong and the Raja Ampat islands at the tip of the Vogelkop are exceptions to the general pattern , getting their heaviest rain between April and September. The far south is the only area with a proper dry season: Merauke normally receives fewer than 50mm of rain monthly from June to October. Temperatures and humidity are high all year in the lowlands, but it’s cooler in the highlands, and highland nights could be positively cold.
Papua is known as a land of many cultures - those of the 200-plus local peoples and people of all the immigrants from other regions of Indonesia, who dominate inside the cities now composition over 40% of Papua’s population. Papuans are mostly Christian with traditional animism.
Most well-known ethnic groups of Papua:
Amungme, Asmat, Bauzi, Dani, Kamoro, Kombai, Korowai, Mee, Sentani, Yali, Yei
GETTING THERE
Get to Jakarta, Makassar, Denpasar, Manado or Ambon, and then take an onward domestic flight. Visitors going directly for the Baliem Valley must fly first to Jayapura, that will (blank) served by five airlines from Jakarta and Makassar, and by Garuda from Denpasar. For the Raja Ampat islands, fly to Sorong from Jakarta, Makassar, Ambon or Manado. You can also fly to Manokwari, Biak or Timika from Makassar or Jakarta, and to Fak-Fak from Ambon. Most flights to Papua from Jakarta are overnight, with a small-hours stop in Makassar. The cheapest Jakarta-Jayapura fares at research time, from around 1,500,000Rp one way, were with Batavia Air and Lion Air.
Airfast (www.airfastindonesia.com)
Batavia Air (www.batavia-air.co.id)
Expressair (www.expressair.biz)
Garuda (www.garuda-indonesia.com)
Lion Air (www.lionair.co.id)
Merpati (www.merpati.co.id)
Wings Air (www.lionair.co.id)
Boat
A few Pelni liners link Papuan ports with Maluku, Sulawesi and Java every two or four weeks. Almost all pass through Sorong, which has six inbound and six outbound sailings every two weeks. Jayapura has five arrivals and departures every two weeks. A few Perintis boats regularly link the north coast of Papua with Sulawesi and northern Maluku, and connect the south coast with southeast Maluku.
