Indonesia - thousands of beautiful islands

Francoise Steynberg in Indonesia

With over 17 000 islands stretching across two tropical oceans, Indonesia is well-known for its magnificent strips of sand with beautiful shores and beaches.
Amongst its wonderful landscape, there is a legacy of monuments, artefacts and crafts which represent centuries of religious beliefs and culture.
With a goal of attracting 20 million tourists to Indonesia within the next five years, the Indonesian ministry of tourism has been intensifying its promotional activities.
“With an extensive archipelago, Indonesia has something to offer everybody by means of its diverse cultures, ethnicities, religions and languages. Despite its diversity, we believe in tolerance and respect for one another,” Noviendi Makalam, the director of international marketing of the ministry of tourism, told Tourismus.
And that is the true beauty of Indonesia – the warmth, friendliness and sense of delight Indonesians convey to visitors.


BALI
Bali has been the favourite destination of locals and international tourists for ages. With its magnificent beaches, breathtaking scenery, marvellous trinkets and interesting people, Bali is perfect for people wanting to escape from the rat race and experience the peaceful zen atmosphere it has to offer.
With a population of about 3,2 million, the island is home to the vast majority of Indonesia’s small Hindu minority. About 93.2% of Bali’s population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, while most of the remainder follow Islam. Do visit Pura Besakih, a temple complex on the slopes of Mount Agung, also referred to as the Mother Temple of Hindu, dating back to 1007 AD.
Bali is renowned for its highly developed art, including sculpture, painting, leather and metal work, music and traditional dances. The energetic traditional Kecak dance can be watched during breathtaking sunsets at the Pura Luhur Uluwati atop a sheer cliff rising 200 feet above the Indian Ocean. Or visit the art village of Batubulan to see the artistic blessing dance of Barong or experience the sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud.
Bali offers adventure tourism activities like parasailing, surfing, scuba diving, snorkelling, banana boat rides and jet skiing.
FLORES
Flores is a beautiful tropical island facing two other important islands – Komodo and Rinca – the only habitat in the world where the world’ s largest living lizard, the mythical and endangered Komodo dragon (Varanuskomodoensis), exists.
Komodo is not only famous for its “dragons”, but also for its beautiful coral reefs and colourful tropical fish at Pink Beach – one of only seven pink beaches on the planet. Snorkel or scuba dive at Pink Beach in its calm, clear waters, tinted by the colourful coral. This exceptional beach gets its striking colour from microscopic animals called foraminifera, which produce a red pigment on the coral reefs. When the tiny fragments of red coral combine with the white sands, it produces the soft pink colour visible along the shoreline. The traditional village of the Manggarai to watch the Caci dance where the men use whips, should be a must visit on any tourist’ s list.
LOMBOK
With divine beaches, the majestic Mount Rinjani and spectacular marine life to discover, the island of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara has no shortage of attractions both in and out of the water.
It boasts an international airport and is popular with surfers for the massive wave breaks on the south coast. Or else challenge yourself with a trek up steep volcanic peaks.
The best known resort area is Senggigi, a township positioned in a sweeping bay with magnificent views of a blood red sunset. A highlight is a visit to the traditional Sasak village, a living museum, where energetic war dances with sticks are performed. Sukara village is the home of traditional weaving craft. The women usually do the weaving on their front porches. Raw materials like cotton, silk, silk gold and silver silk thread are used. They use natural dyes such as mahogany for reddish brown, the stem of teak for light brown, tamarind seeds for brown, banana stem rot for dark brown and the skin of the mangosteen and wine for purple.
After a short 20 minutes boat ride form Senggigi visitors can also spend their time on one of either Gili Travangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air, the three secluded tropical Gili islands which offer stunning beaches.
Indonesia with its thousands of splendid islands truly is paradise.