Papua

The people of the island can be divided into more than 250 sub-groups, including the Marindanim, Yah’ray, Asmat, Mandobo, Dani, Afyat, Amungme, Bauzi, Kamoro, Kombai, Korowai, Mee, Sentani, Lani, Yei and Yali
Papua is rich in a strategic area for tourism. Many natural beauty that is created there. Starting from the Beach, Forest, Mountain, Swamp, it is still natural and not polluted as in big cities. Abepura (between Jayapura and Sentani) is the best place for ethnographic pieces and Asmat arts from the Rockefeller Foundation. Danau Sentani is one of the biggest lakes and you can cross to the Apayo island, where local people make bark paintings. For wood carvings and rock paintings, you can stop by at Doyo Lama Village. The Baliem Valley is the home of the Dani, Lani and Yali tribesmen, it takes a 45 minute flight from Jayapura. Dani and Lani are very close to each other. They have the same language, but different dialects.
The Yali tribesmen live far from the two tribes in the rugged terrain. They have their own language, which is very different with the Dani or Lani. It takes a five day trek from Wamena, the one and only town in Baliem valley. The famous Asmat tribesmen live in the harsh environment on the south coast of West Papua. This etchnic group are fishermen and carvers. Asmat means street or wood people. Every year they conduct the Sago Larva feast. Recently the local government of West Papua, together the tourist office, started the yearly art and culture festival in the fisrt week of October, to support and maintain Asmat art and culture. Besides traditional dancing during the festival Asmat woodcarvings are sold.
Papua’s known forest fauna includes marsupials, mammals, many bird species, the world’s longest lizards (Papua monitor) and the world’s largest butterflies. The island has an estimated 16,000 species of plant, 124 genera of which are endemic.
Its tropical rain forest and jungles are known to be very wild and impenetrable. Puncak Jaya or the so – called Carstenz Peak, one of the tallest peaks in the island, covered by everlasting snow and surrounded by Lorentz Reserve which is the largest conservation area in Indonesia, covering some 21.500 km².
As stunningly beautiful above water as it is below, Raja Ampat (which literally translates as “The Four Kings”) has a startling diversity of habitats to explore. The area’s reefs are covered in a diverse selection of both hard and soft corals. Most of the areas reefs are pristine, with mile after mile of perfect hard corals, drift after drift of soft corals of many species and colors ranging from brilliant red, to shocking yellow pretty pink and exotic purple. Most reef dives are very colorful. Diversity at its best, Raja Ampat is arguably the best dive site in the world.