Continue onwards and nearly five hours after setting out that morning you reach Seima. On the opposite bank of the Kali Baliem you’ll be able to see where you started trekking several days ago. You could stop in Seima for the night but most people choose to press on for a further 1½ hours. From Seima continue along the track heading north. It wends in and out of forest and farmland before dropping down to the river, which you eventually cross on a scary yellow hanging bridge, built of metal and sticks (most of which are missing). Ten minutes uphill walk and you’ll reach the tarmac road, the village of Sugokmo and transport back to Wamena. Total walk time: six to seven hours.
Wasur National Park
Wasur National ParkNATIONAL PARK
The 4130-sq-km Wasur National Park, stretching between Merauke and the PNG border, will fascinate anyone with an interest in wildlife, especially birds and marsupials. But come in the later part of the dry season (mid-July to early November), otherwise most of Wasur’s tracks will be impassable.
Part of the Trans-Fly biome straddling the Indonesia–PNG border, Wasur is a low-lying area of savannahs, swamps, forests and slow-moving rivers that inundate much of the land during the wet season. Wasur’s marsupials includes at least three species of wallaby (locals call them all kangguru), though illegal hunting means numbers of wallaby are falling. There are also nocturnal cuscuses and sugar gliders. Among the 400 birds are cassowaries, kookaburras, cockatoos, brolgas, magpie geese and three types of bird of paradise.
The southern part of the park is the best for wildlife-spotting as it has more open grasslands and coastal areas. At Rawa Biru, an indigenous village 45km east of Merauke (300,000Rp one way by ojek, or 2,500,000Rp to 4,000,000Rp round trip in a rented 4WD vehicle with driver), you can stay in local houses for 100,000Rp to 150,000Rp person (bring food and mosquito nets). From Rawa Biru it’s a two- to three-hour walk to Prem, with a small savannah surrounded by water, and a good chance of seeing wallabies and various waterbirds. Also within reach (20km) is Yakiu, where chances are high of seeing the greater, king and red birds of paradise in the early morning and late afternoon.
Bony Kondahon (%0813 4458 3646; [email protected]), an excellent, English-speaking, Merauke-based Papuan guide, can help with arrangements and show you the park. He charges 300,000Rp to 350,000Rp per day for guiding and cooking.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
MOUNTAIN CLIMBING IN PAPUA
Papua contains the biggest mountains in Oceania including the biggest of them all, the 4884m Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) and the 4750m Gunung Trikora, which comes in at number two. The Carstensz Pyramid has a fast-receding glacier and both mountains are frequently dusted in snow.
Climbing either mountain is possible, though basic mountaineering skills are needed for Carstensz Pyramid. Both require several nights camping at high, cold altitudes and both require a stash of permits and the services of a recognised Indonesian tour company.
Altitude sickness can be a real danger and this risk is increased by the fact that many of the standard ‘package’ climbing tours don’t tend to include an acclimatisation day before attempting the summit.
Adventure Indonesia (www.adventureindonesia.com) is one reliable operator offering expeditions up both mountains.
Asmat Region
The Asmat region is a massive, remote, low-lying area of muddy, snaking rivers, mangrove forests and tidal swamps, where many villages, including their streets, are built entirely on stilts. The Asmat people, formerly feared for their headhunting and cannibalism, are now most celebrated for their woodcarvings – the most spectacular of Papuan art. It’s a fascinating area to explore but it requires time, money and patience.
Most visitors who do make it here spend time boating along the jungle-lined rivers to different villages, seeing and buying Asmat artefacts, and maybe seeing a traditional dance or ceremony.
Villages to visit for their carving include Atsy, Ambisu and Jow, all south of Agats. Fos and Awok, east of Agats up Kali Sirets (Sirets River), and Ocenep, south of Agats, are places where traditional Asmat celebrations can be laid on for a significant sum of cash.
Agats
Capital of the Asmat Region is the overgrown village of Agats, on the Aswet estuary. Due to the extraordinary tides and location, its streets are raised boardwalks. It’s a curious place to wander round, with markets, shops, mosque, churches and hideous monuments, just like any other Papuan town.
Don’t miss the Museum Kebudayaan dan Kemajuan Asmat (Asmat Museum of Culture & Progress; http://asmatmuseum.com; Jl Missi; admission by donation; h8am-3pm Mon-Sat), which has a fantastic collection of Asmat art and artefacts, from bis poles and skulls to full-body dance outfits.
The government-run Hotel Assedu (%0821 9831 2611; Jl Pemda 1; s/d incl breakfast 265,000/290,000Rp; a) has clean rooms with comfy beds, almost-tasteful plastic flowers and the best restaurant in town.
8Getting There & Away
Unfortunately, actually getting to Agats can be problematic as there are few reliable scheduled flights. Susi Air (www.susiair.com) flies to Agats from Merauke via the island of Pulau Yos Sudarso but the service is rather infrequent. Trigana (www.trigana-air.com) has twice-weekly flights between Agats and Timika from where you can connect to Jayapura and other cities, but these flights seem to be booked up weeks in advance.
Pelni’s Tatamailau leaves Agats every two weeks for Merauke (economy class 178,000Rp) southbound, and Timika, Tual and Sorong northbound. The Kelimutu comes every four weeks, to Merauke southbound and Timika and Maluku northbound.
Korowai Region
Far inland, in the region of the Dairam and upper Sirets rivers, live the Korowai people, seminomadic dwellers in tree houses perched 10m to 20m high as refuges against animals, enemies, floods and mosquitoes. The Korowai were not contacted by missionaries until the 1970s, and though some have since settled in new villages of ground-level houses, others still live their traditional way of life, wearing few clothes and employing stone and bone tools.
Most Papua-based tour companies offer tours to this area (an organised tour is, for all intents and purposes, the only feasible way of currently visiting). Tours typically fly from Jayapura or Wamena to Dekai, then boat down Kali Brazza and up Kali Pulau to the first Korowai village, Mabul. You then spend some days walking along muddy, slippery trails through hot, humid jungles, sleeping in tents, huts or tree houses, and witnessing tribal life, often including some prearranged festivities. You’re looking at approximately €2000 to €2500 for a seven- to 10-day trip, with perhaps half that time actually in Korowai territory.
Sumatra
Sumatra Highlights
North Sumatra
Medan
Bukit Lawang
Tangkahan
Berastagi
Parapat
Danau Toba
Sibolga
Pulau Nias
Gunung Sitoli
Teluk Dalam
Pantai Sorake & Teluk Lagundri
Traditional Villages
Aceh
Banda Aceh
Pulau Weh
Aceh's West Coast
Banyak Islands
Gunung Leuser National Park
West Sumatra
Padang
Around Padang
Mentawai Islands
Bukittinggi
Around Bukittinggi
Danau Maninjau
Kerinci Valley
Kerinci Seblat National Park
Bengkulu
Bengkulu
Around Bengkulu
Riau
Pekanbaru
Pulau Batam
Pulau Bintan
Jambi
Jambi
South Sumatra
Palembang
Krui
Lampung
Bandarlampung
Way Kambas National Park
Gunung Krakatau
Bakauheni
Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park
Sumatra
Pop 50.37 million
Why Go?
Few isles tempt the imagination with the lure of adventure quite like the fierce land of Sumatra. An island of extraordinary beauty, it bubbles with life and vibrates under the power of nature. Eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis are Sumatran headline grabbers. Steaming volcanoes brew and bluster while standing guard over lakes that sleepily lap the edges of craters. Orangutan-filled jungles host not only our red-haired cousins, but also tigers, rhinos and elephants. And down at sea level, idyllic deserted beaches are bombarded by clear barrels of surf.
As varied as the land, the people of Sumatra are a spicy broth of mixed cultures, from the devout Muslims in Aceh to the hedonistic Batak Christians around Danau Toba and the matrilineal Minangkabau of Padang. All are unified by a fear, respect and love of the wild and wondrous land of Sumatra.
When to Go
AApr–Oct Hit the waves on the Mentawais, Nias and the Banyaks.
AMid–Jun Take in the chaotic canoe races at the Danau Toba Festival.
AFeb–Aug Travelling during the dry season maximises wildlife sightings in the jungle.
Best Places to Eat
A Bixio Cafe
A Pak Tri’s
A Marola
A Jenny’s Restaurant
A Pondok Kelapa
Best Places to Stay
A Horas Family Home
A Pondok Tailana
A Freddies
A Abdi Homestay
A Nachelle Homestay
Sumatra Highlights
1 Delving into the fascinating Batak culture on the shores of Danau Toba
2 Ogling orangutans in the jungles of Bukit Lawang
3 Finding your desert island paradise among the Banyak Islands and snorkelling Sumatra’s best reefs
4 Swimming with sharks and turtles in the coral garden off Pulau Weh
5 Searching for tigers and pristine lakes and hiking up volcanoes in Kerinci Seblat National Park
6 Exploring the heartland of the Minangkabau from the sleepy Harau Valley to spectacular Danau Maninjau
7 Getting the real jungle experience around Ketambe, at the heart of the Gunung Leuser National Park
8 Living the surfer dream around the Mentawai, Nias and Banyak Islands
9 Rock climbing and hiking in the countryside around Bengkulu, Sumatra’s most pleasant city
a Hiking to a steaming volcanic peak around the hill town of Berastagi
History
Pre-Islamic history is often more myth than fact, but archaeological evidence suggests that Sumatra was the gateway for migrating tribes from mainland Southeast Asia.
The Strait of Melaka, an important trade route between China and India, exposed the east coast of Sumatra to the region’s superpowers and cultural influences such as Islam. The kingdom of Sriwijaya emerged as a local player at the end of the 7th century, with its capital presumably based near the modern city of Palembang. After Sriwijaya’s influence waned, Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, assumed control of trade through the strait. The era of Aceh’s sultanate prevailed until the beginning of the 17th century, when Dutch traders claimed a piece of the spice trade.
The most influential port of the day, Samudra, near Lhokseumawe, eventually became the name that traders used to refer to the entire island. It was Marco Polo who corrupted the name to ‘Sumatra’ in his 1292 report on the area.
Throughout the colonial era, Sumatra saw many foreign powers stake a claim in its resources: the Dutch based themselves in the west Sumatran port of Padang, the British ruled in Bencoolen (now Bengkulu), American traders monopolised pepper exports from Aceh, and the Chinese exploited the reserves on the islands of Bangka and Belitung, east of Palembang.
In the early 19th century, the Dutch attempted to assert military control over all of Sumatra, a move met with resistance by its disparate tribes. In 1863 the Dutch finally established authority over Pulau Nias. Treaties and alliances brought other areas of Sumatra under Dutch rule.
The Dutch were never welcomed in Sumatra, which contributed several key figures to the independence struggle. Yet Sumatra was dissatisfied with Jakarta’s rule. Between 1958 and 1961, rebel groups based in Bukittinggi and the mountains of south Sumatra resisted centralisation, which led to clashes with the Indonesian military. Fiercely independent Aceh proved to be Jakarta’s most troublesome region. Aceh’s separatist movement started in the late 1970s and continued until 2006.
No human conflict could compare to the destruction that occurred on Boxing Day in 2004, when a 9.0-plus-magnitude earthquake off the northwestern coast of Sumatra triggered a region-wide tsunami, killing over 170,000 people, mainly in Aceh. The one silver lining to the disaster was that the rescue and reconstruction efforts have brought peace to region and it largely holds to date.
8Getting There & Away
These days, most travellers reach Sumatra via budget airline flight or ferry from Java. The old sea routes are largely redundant.
Keep in mind that Sumatra is one hour behind Singapore and Malaysia.
Air
Medan is Sumatra’s primary international hub, with frequent flights from its new airport to mainland Southeast Asian cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang with Silk Air (www.silkair.com) and AirAsia (www.airasia.com) and Malaysia Airlines (www.malaysiaairlines.com), respectively. In West Sumatra, Padang receives flights from Kuala Lumpur. Banda Aceh, Palembang, Pulau Batam and Pekanbaru also receive international flights from mainland Southeast Asia.
You can hop on a plane from Jakarta to every major Sumatran city aboard Garuda (www.garuda-indonesia.com), Lion Air (www.lionair.co.id) or Sriwijaya Air (www.sriwijayaair.co.id), among others. Flights from Sumatra to other parts of Indonesia typically connect through Jakarta.
A word of warning: when oil-palm plantations on Sumatra’s east coast are burned (annually, usually during dry season), the smoke frequently results in the closure of Pekanbaru and Jambi airports.
Boat
Ferries run between Dumai on Sumatra’s east coast and Melaka and Klang (for Kuala Lumpur) in Malaysia, Singapore and Pulau Batam, but Dumai is only useful if you have your heart set on an international boat journey or if you’re transporting a motorbike between Sumatra and Malaysia.
From Singapore, ferries make the quick hop to Pulau Batam and Pulau Bintan, the primary islands in the Riau archipelago. From Batam, boats set sail for Dumai, Palembang and Pekanbaru, but few travellers use these routes.
Ferries cross the narrow Sunda Strait, which links the southeastern tip of Sumatra at Bakauheni to Java’s westernmost point of Merak. The sea crossing is a brief dip in a day-long voyage that requires several hours’ worth of bus transport from both ports to Jakarta and, on the Sumatra side, Bandarlampung.
8Getting Around
Most travellers bus around northern Sumatra and then hop on a plane to Java, largely avoiding Sumatra’s highway system. Most of the island is mountainous jungle and the poorly maintained roads form a twisted pile of spaghetti on the undulating landscape. Don’t count on getting anywhere very quickly on Sumatra.
Air
Short plane journeys can be an attractive alternative to spending an eternity on packed buses. Competition between domestic carriers means internal flights are inexpensive and largely reliable, with the exception of Susi Air and their small planes which are particularly susceptible to bad weather. Dry-season smog affects planes along the east coast.
Medan to Pulau Weh, Medan to Padang, Palembang to Jambi, Medan to Banda Aceh, and Pulau Batam to Padang and Bengkulu are useful air hops.
Boat
Most boat travel within Sumatra connects the main island with the many satellite islands lining the coast. The most commonly used routes link Banda Aceh with Pulau Weh; Singkil and Sibolga with Pulau Nias; and Padang with the Mentawai Islands. Most long-distance ferries have several classes, ranging from dilapidated and crowded to air-conditioned, dilapidated and less crowded. The Mentawai Islands are now served by a comfortab
le large speedboat.
Bus
Bus is the most common mode of transport around Sumatra, and in some cases it’s the only option for intercity travel. But it is far from efficient or comfortable, since all types of buses – from economy sardine cans to modern air-con coaches – are subject to the same traffic snarls along Sumatra’s single carriageways, potholes the size of Cumbria and endless stops to pick up or drop off passengers. At the top of the class structure are super-executive buses with reclining seats, deep-freeze air-con, toilets and an all-night serenade of The Scorpions’ greatest hits. Many passengers come prepared with a jacket and earplugs.
In some towns, you can go straight to the bus terminal to buy tickets and board buses, while other towns rely on bus-company offices located outside the terminals. Ticket prices vary greatly depending on the quality of the bus and the perceived gullibility of the traveller; ask at your guesthouse how much a ticket is supposed to cost.
Lonely Planet Indonesia Page 94