Papua
Papua Highlights
West Papua
Sorong
Raja Ampat Islands
Manokwari
Around Manokwari
Northern Papua
Jayapura
Sentani
Around Sentani
Pulau Biak
Nabire
Baliem Valley
Wamena
Northeastern Baliem Valley
Northwestern Baliem Valley
Danau Habbema
Yali Country
The South
Merauke
Wasur National Park
Asmat Region
Korowai Region
Papua
Why Go?
Even a country as full of adventure as Indonesia has its final frontier. And here it is; Papua, half of the world’s second-biggest island, New Guinea. It may be the youngest part of Indonesia, but Papua's rich tribal traditions span centuries. This is a place where some people still hunt their food with bows and arrows. A place where roads are so scarce, that to travel between towns you often have no choice but to take to the air or the water. So unlike any other part of Indonesia, the province formerly known as Irian Jaya can feel like a different country – which is what many Papuans, who are Melanesian and ethnically distinct from other Indonesians, would like it to be.
Travel here is undoubtedly a challenge, and not one that comes cheap. But those who take it on rarely fail to be awed by the charm of Papua’s peoples, the resilience of its cultures and the grandeur of both its dramatic landscapes and idyllic seascapes.
When to Go
AApr–Dec Generally benign weather in the Baliem Valley; perfect for trekking.
AAug Join in with the feasting and the fun at the Baliem Valley Festival.
ANov–Mar Ideal conditions for marvelling at the aquatic wonders of the Raja Ampat Islands.
Best Places to Eat
A Rumah Makan Salam Manis
A Duta Cafe
A Yougwa Restaurant
A Warung Makan Bakwokah
Best Places to Stay
A Raja Ampat Biodiversity
A Lumba Lumba
A Kordiris Homestay
A Alberth Elopore’s Guesthouse
A Hotel Rainbow Wamena
A Padaido Hotel
Papua Highlights
1 Hiking among the thatched-hut villages, unique tribal culture and mountain grandeur of the Baliem Valley
2 Diving and snorkelling in the real-life tropical aquarium of the Raja Ampat Islands
3 Swimming with whale sharks off Nabire
4 Witnessing spectacular tribal festivities at the Baliem Valley Festival or Festival Danau Sentani
5 Hiking into the mountains around Manokwari in search of birds of paradise and other exotic wildlife
6 Enjoying the island life among the friendly folk of Pulau Biak
7 Searching out the indigenous lowland culture and Australia-like flora and fauna of Wasur National Park
History
It’s estimated that Papua has been inhabited for 30,000 or 40,000 years, but contact with the outside world was minimal until the mid-20th century. Three colonial powers agreed to divide the island of New Guinea between them in the late 19th century: Holland got the western half, and Britain and Germany got the southeastern and northeastern quarters respectively (together these two parts now comprise the country of Papua New Guinea). Dutch involvement with Papua was minimal up until WWII when Japan seized most of New Guinea in 1942. Japan was then driven out in 1944 by Allied forces under US general Douglas MacArthur.
Indonesia Takes Over
When the Netherlands withdrew from the rest of the Dutch East Indies (which became Indonesia) in 1949, it hung on to its half of New Guinea, and then began to prepare it for independence with a target date of 1970. Indonesia’s President Sukarno had other ideas and in 1962 Indonesian troops began infiltrating the territory in preparation for an invasion. Under pressure from the US, which didn’t want to risk a damaging defeat for its Dutch ally by the Soviet-backed Sukarno regime, the Netherlands signed the New York Agreement of 15 August 1962. Under this agreement, Papua became an Indonesian province in 1963. The Papuan people were to confirm or reject Indonesian sovereignty in a UN-supervised vote within six years. In 1969, against a background of Papuan revolt and military counter-operations that killed thousands, Indonesia decided that the sovereignty vote would involve just over 1000 selected ‘representatives’ of the Papuan people. Subjected to threats, the chosen few voted for integration with Indonesia in what was officially named the Act of Free Choice.
The following decades saw a steady influx of Indonesian settlers into Papua – not just officially sponsored transmigrants but also ‘spontaneous’ migrants in search of economic opportunity. Intermittent revolts and sporadic actions by the small, primitively armed Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Free Papua Organisation; OPM) guerrilla movement were usually followed by drastic Indonesian retaliation, which at times included bombing and strafing of Papuan villages. Indonesia invested little in Papuans’ economic or educational development, while the administration, security forces and business interests extracted resources such as oil, minerals and timber.
Papua in the 21st Century
Following the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998, the reformasi (reform) period in Indonesian politics led many Papuans to hope that Papuan independence might be on the cards. In June 2000 the Papua People’s Congress (more than 2500 Papuan delegates meeting in Jayapura) declared that Papua no longer recognised Indonesian rule and delegated a smaller body, the Papua Council Presidium, to seek a UN-sponsored referendum on Papuan independence. But the ‘Papuan Spring’ was short-lived. The second half of 2000 saw a big security force build-up in Papua, and attacks on pro-independence demonstrators. In 2001, the Papua Council Presidium’s leader Theys Eluay was murdered by Indonesian soldiers.
The year 2001 also saw the passing of a Special Autonomy charter for Papua – Jakarta’s response to Papuan grievances. The major provision was to give Papua a bigger share (70% to 80%) of the tax take from its own resources, plus more money to develop education and health. But many Papuans consider that Special Autonomy has not benefited them significantly, complaining that too much of the money disappears into the hands of the bureaucracy. They also complain that non-Papuans control Papua’s economy and government in their own interests, and are exploiting Papua’s natural resources with minimal benefit for the native people. The US-owned Freeport mine, digging the world’s biggest recoverable lodes of gold and copper out of the mountains north of Timika, and using the Indonesian police and army as part of its security force, is often considered a classic symbol. Its troubled relationship with local communities has seen violence on numerous occasions, and its installations and workers have been targets of attacks usually attributed to the OPM.
Pro-independence activism and OPM activity have increased in Papua in recent years, and killings, torture, rape and disappearances carried out by the Indonesian security forces have continued to be reported by human-rights bodies. Papuans regularly receive jail sentences of 10 years or more for simply raising the Morning Star flag, the symbol of Papuan independence. A new meeting of the Papua People’s Congress in 2011 reaffirmed its independence declaration but was broken up by troops, with six people reported killed.
Despite this, living standards in Papua’s cities have risen, but the villages and countryside, where most native Papuans live, remain among Indonesia’s poorest. The AIDS rate in Papua is the highest in Indonesia. Most Papuans want to be free of Indonesian rule, but their chances of that seem as slim as ever now that, by some estimates, half of Papua’s four million people are non-Papuans.
Culture
Papua is a land of hundreds of cultures – those of the 200-plus indigenous peoples and those of all the immigrants from other parts of Indonesia, who dominate in the cities and now make up more than half of Papua’s population. Relations bet
ween native Papuans and immigrants can be good on a person-to-person level but poor when it comes to group dynamics. The immigrants are predominantly Muslim, while Papuans are mostly Christian with an undercoat of traditional animism.
Indigenous Papuan culture is much more apparent in the villages than the towns. It has altered a lot under the influence of Christian missionaries and Indonesian government. Tribal warfare, headhunting and cannibalism, practised by some tribes well into the second half of the 20th century, have all but disappeared. But reverence for ancestors and pride in cultural traditions such as dances, dress and woodcarving persist. Papuan woodcarving is prized throughout Indonesia and beyond: the Asmat and Kamoro peoples produce the most striking work.
Tribal culture varies from area to area starting with languages, of which Papua has approximately 280. Traditional housing varies with the environment – people who live close to the water often live in stilt houses, the Dani of the Baliem Valley inhabit snug, round, wood-and-thatch huts known as honai, and the Korowai of the southern jungles build their homes high in trees. Gender roles remain traditional. Polygamy is still practised by some men, and women do most of the carrying as well as domestic tasks.
Wildlife
Thanks to Papua’s former existence as part of the Australian continent (it was still joined to Australia 10,000 years ago), its wildlife has big differences from the rest of Indonesia. Here dwell marsupials such as tree kangaroos, wallabies, bandicoots and cuscuses, as well as echidnas, a primitive mammal which, along with Australia’s duck-billed platypuses, are the world’s only egg-laying mammals.
Papua is still three-quarters covered in forest. Its diverse ecosystems range from savannahs and mangroves to rainforest, montane forest and the glaciers around 4884m Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya), the highest peak in Oceania. It’s home to more than half the animal and plant species in Indonesia, including more than 190 mammals, 550 breeding birds, 2650 fishes and more than 2000 types of orchid.
The megastars of the feathered tribe are the birds of paradise, whose fantastically coloured males perform weird and wonderful mating dances. Also here are large, ground-dwelling cassowaries, colourful parrots and lorikeets, unique types of kookaburra, crowned pigeons, cockatoos, hornbills, and the curious bowerbirds, whose males decorate large ground-level dens in their efforts to find mates.
Marine life is even more fantastic and varied, especially around the Vogelkop peninsula, where the still-being-explored seas of the Raja Ampat Islands are quickly earning a reputation for some of the world’s best diving.
New species continue to be found in the sea and on land. Two previously unknown types of epaulette shark (also called walking sharks because they use their fins to ‘walk’ along the seabed) were discovered in Teluk Cenderawasih and Triton Bay in 2006. A year earlier, a Conservation International expedition in the almost-untouched Foja Mountains found types of bird of paradise and bowerbird that had been thought extinct, four new species of butterfly, 20 new frogs, and the golden-mantled tree kangaroo, previously known only on one mountain in neighbouring Papua New Guinea (PNG). In 2013 a major expedition to PNG unearthed dozens of new species and it’s likely that many more creatures await discovery throughout New Guinea.
Economic developments threaten Papua’s wildlife. Forests are under assault from logging (much of it illegal, with the timber smuggled out to Asia), road construction, mining, transmigration settlements and new oil-palm plantations. Bird-of-paradise feathers have long been used in Papuan traditional dress, and they became so popular as European fashion accessories before WWI that the birds came close to extinction. Trade in the feathers has been illegal in Indonesia since 1990, but birds of paradise continue to be smuggled out of Papua.
Most good Papuan tour companies, including birdwatching specialist Papua Expeditions (www.papuaexpeditions.com), can arrange birdwatching trips with expert local guides.
TTours & Guides
While travel in Papua is, in many cases, no more challenging than anywhere else in Indonesia, there are certain areas where the logistical difficulties of travel mean that it makes sense to take a guided tour. This is particularly true of the Asmat or Korowai regions or the little-explored Mamberamo basin in the north. Guided tours are essential (given the bureaucracy involved) for mountaineers wanting to climb Papua’s high peaks such as Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) or Gunung Trikora.
As well as guides and agencies with local ambits, there are several that offer trips to a range of Papua destinations.
Adventure Indonesia (www.adventureindonesia.com) Top Indonesian adventure-tourism firm that does Asmat, Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) and Baliem Valley trips.
Andreas Ndruru (%0813 4496 9100; [email protected]) Andreas is a Sumatran-born, Papuan-passionate freelance guide who speaks fluent English and has huge experience of Papua and a great team (including an outstanding camp cook). He’s based in Sentani but specialises in hiking trips and tours to tribal regions.
Bob Palege (%0812 4721 0365; [email protected]) Based in Sentani, Bob Palege is something of a legend in Papuan travel circles and is arguably one of the region’s most experienced and knowledgeable guides, with unsurpassed connections and contacts throughout Papua.
Discover Papua Adventure (www.discoverpapua.com) An efficient, well-established Biak-based agency that can set up just about any trip you want throughout Papua.
Papua Expeditions (www.papuaexpeditions.com) This ecotourism-minded, Sorong-based company specialises in birding in all the best Papuan destinations. Its website is a great resource.
PAPUA TRAVEL PERMIT
In the fairly recent past, visiting Papua meant filling out reams of forms and obtaining a special travel permit known as a surat keterangan jalan (commonly called a surat jalan). In the past couple of years, though, permit restrictions have been eased for many areas (though this could just as easily be reversed). At the time of research in mid-2015, exactly where a surat jalan was required seemed to depend on whom you asked. The police in Jayapura insisted one was required for almost every town and area in Papua, but the reality was that in all but the remotest areas you now very rarely get asked to produce a surat jalan. To be on the safe side, however, if you’re heading to the Baliem Valley, Yali country, Agats and the Korowai region it’s better to get one.
A surat jalan is usually easily obtained from the police in the capitals of Papua’s 30-odd kabupaten (regencies). The relevant police departments are typically open from about 8am to 2pm Monday to Saturday; times and days vary, and some departments can attend to you outside their official hours. Take your passport, two passport photos, and photocopies of your passport’s personal details page and your Indonesian visa. The procedure normally takes about an hour and no payment should be requested. The duration of the permit depends on how long you request and the expiry date of your visa.
Some police stations will only issue a surat jalan for their own regencies or limited other destinations. The best place to obtain a wide-ranging surat jalan is Polresta in Jayapura, where you can present a list of every place that you intend to visit (don’t omit any obscure, small, off-the-beaten-track places), and get them all listed on one surat jalan. You might have similar luck in other relatively large cities such as Manokwari and Sorong.
Once you have your surat jalan, make several photocopies of it. In remoter areas your hotel should report your arrival to the police and they will likely need photocopies of your passport and/or surat jalan to do so. In a few places you may need to report to the police yourself. Carry your surat jalan on out-of-town trips.
Some parts of Papua are sometimes off limits to tourists, usually because of Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Free Papua Organisation; OPM) activity. When you apply for a surat jalan, the police will tell you if anywhere on your itinerary is off limits.
Note: some Indonesian embassies may tell you that in order to visit Papua you must obtain a special permit from the Indonesian immigration authorities and/or the police department in Jakarta �
� some have even reportedly refused visas to applicants who said they planned to visit Papua. This is not true. In practice, as long as you have an Indonesian visa then you’re free to travel to and around Papua (and don’t worry, airlines never ask to see a surat jalan).
8Getting There & Around
Intercity roads are still a thing of the future for Papua. Boats are an option for travelling to Papua and between its coastal towns if you have enough time, or along its rivers if you have enough money. Flying is the common way to reach Papua and to travel between its cities and towns.
Air
To fly to Papua you must first get to Jakarta, Makassar, Denpasar, Manado or Ambon, then take a domestic flight. For the Baliem Valley, fly first to Jayapura and take an onward flight from there. Jayapura is served by four airlines from Jakarta and Makassar, and by Garuda from Denpasar (via Timika). Jakarta–Jayapura fares are not cheap and start at around 1,500,000Rp one way. For the Raja Ampat Islands, fly to nearby Sorong from Jakarta, Makassar or Manado.
Most commercial flights within Papua cost around 700,000Rp to 1,200,000Rp, plus or minus a hundred thousand or two.
Missionary airlines such as the Roman Catholic Associated Mission Aviation (AMA) and Protestant Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) do a lot of flying between small, remote airstrips. They will sometimes carry tourists if they have spare seats. Chartering a small plane for seven to 12 people is another option for routes not served by scheduled flights. Airlines servicing Papua include Batik Air (www.batikair.com), Garuda Indonesia (www.garuda-indonesia.com), Lion Air (www.lionair.co.id), Sriwijaya Air (www.sriwijayaair.co.id), Susi Air (www.susiair.com; flies small planes on local routes within Papua), Trigana Air (www.trigana-air.com), Wings Air (www.lionair.co.id) and Xpress Air (www.xpressair.co.id).
Lonely Planet Indonesia Page 87