Islands of Indonesia

Want to know how many islands are in Indonesia ? 17,804! Surprisingly, most of them still have no name - they are small and uninhabited. But the rest of the territory of this amazing country has long been studied and very different. Let's find out what they are interesting for tourists.

The largest islands of Indonesia

The largest, most populated and popular among travelers are:

1. Kalimantan . It is the third largest island in the world. It is divided between Malaysia (26%), Brunei (1%) and Indonesia (73%), with Malaysians calling the island of Borneo, and their neighbors - Kalimantan. The Indonesian part of the territory is divided into the Western, Central, Northern, Eastern and Southern parts. The largest cities are Pontianak , Palankaraya, Tanjungsselor, Samarinda, Banjarmasin . Kalimantan is covered with jungle, here the prevailing wet equatorial climate prevails.
2. Sumatra is the sixth largest island on the globe and the third largest in terms of the number of tourists coming to Indonesia (except Bali and Java). It is in both hemispheres at once. This island is rich in rivers, and the largest lake here is Toba . The wildlife of Sumatra is very diverse, there are many endemics here. The main cities are Medan , Palembang and Padang. The best time to visit this area is May-June or September-October.
3. Sulawesi (or, as it is called in Indonesia, Celebes) is the largest island on the planet. It has a very unusual form of orchid flower and mountainous terrain. Sulawesi is divided into 6 provinces, the largest cities - Makasar, Manado, Bitung. Travelers celebrate the extraordinary beauty of the island's nature. In addition, it is very interesting here: you can visit the untouched jungle civilization, visit Aboriginal tribes with their amazing culture, see formidable active volcanoes, take a walk through numerous plantations (tobacco, rice, coffee, coconut).
4. Java is an amazing island in Indonesia. 30 active volcanoes , picturesque landscapes, many cultural attractions (for example, the Borobudur temple ). In Java is the main city of Indonesia - Jakarta . Other large settlements of the island are Surabaya , Bandung , Yogyakarta . Java is considered the commercial, religious and political center of the state, and among tourists it is the second most popular city after Bali with its advertised resorts .
5. New Guinea. The western part of this island, owned by Indonesia, is called Irian Jaya, or West Irian. 75% of its territory is covered by impassable jungle and is considered unique in terms of the diversity of nature. This part of Indonesia is the least populated, the most remote and not particularly developed (including in terms of tourism), so the Irian Jaya is considered largely unexplored island of Indonesia.

In addition to these, 32 archipelagos belong to Indonesia. Two of them are the largest - the Moluccas and the Lesser Sunda Islands. Let us consider them in more detail.

Lesser Sunda Islands

This archipelago consists of many small and 6 large islands:

1. Bali is a tourism center not only in Indonesia, but also throughout Southeast Asia, the famous "island of a thousand temples". Here come for a good rest : a lot of fun and excursions to numerous temples . Bali is the undisputed leader among the islands of Indonesia for beach holidays; here there are many modern resorts, a wide range of entertainment.
2. Lombok - here come not for entertainment, but for traveling around this picturesque island of Indonesia. The point of attraction is the volcano Rinjani - majestic and, most importantly, active. In general, this region is considered the least developed in the whole of Indonesia.
3. Flores is an island of beautiful lakes, mountains and volcanoes in Indonesia. Its meager tourist infrastructure is compensated by magnificent landscapes and a peculiar atmosphere. Here you will find not only an amazing nature, but also a unique culture: a mixture of Catholic traditions and pagan foundations.
4. Sumbawa - attracts travelers with natural beauty and magic of the Tambor volcano . He lies on the road from Bali to the island of Komodo, and therefore quite popular. Diving , shopping , beach and sightseeing tours are available here to foreign guests.
5. Timor is an island that Indonesia shares with the state of East Timor. It is surrounded by an interesting legend, according to which in ancient times the island was a huge crocodile. Today, this is a fairly large area, with only coastal areas inhabited. Tourists come here rarely.
6. Sumba - at one time became famous as a sandal island (this tree was exported from here in the Middle Ages). Here you can surf or dive, have a good rest on the beach or go to explore the ancient megalithic structures.

Small Sunda, in turn, are divided into Eastern and Western (the island of Bali stands alone and is considered to be of the same name as the Indonesian province). The first include Flores, Timor, Sumba, to the second - Lombok and Sumbawa.

The Moluccas Islands

Between New Guinea and Sulawesi is located this archipelago, also known as the Island of spices. This unusual name is due to the fact that there has long been grown nutmeg and other types of exotic plants, of which spices are made. It is part of the archipelago of 1,027 islands. The most noteworthy among them:

1. Halmahera is the largest island, but it is sparsely populated. Its name means "big earth". There are several active volcanoes, deserted beaches and virgin jungles. On the Halmaire, coconut palms are grown on an industrial scale, gold is mined.
2. Seram - is characterized by a very diverse fauna, there are many endemics. However, tourists are rare guests on this large island, as its infrastructure is very poorly developed.
3. Buru - eco-tourism is actively developing here. Travelers come to see the amazing Rana Lake and take a walk through the rainforests. There are several cultural monuments, mostly colonial heritage.
4. The Banda Islands is a popular dive site in Indonesia. There are 7 inhabited islands with the capital of Bandaneira. The humid tropical forests covering the ground part, and the active volcano on Banda-Ali attract ecotourism lovers here.
5. Ambon is the cultural capital of the Moluccas. There are several universities and an airport . Growing of nutmeg and cloves are the main articles of the income of its economy.
6. Ternate is a large island city in the north of the archipelago. Here you can see a large stratovolcano with a height of 1715 m, clove groves, a lake crawling with crocodiles and a 300-year magma stream.

Other popular islands of Indonesia

The list of small but visited islands of Indonesia includes the following:

1. Gili - are located near the north-western coast of Lombok. There are more free customs here than in the rest of the country, and tourists are offered a relaxed holiday, visiting beautiful blue beaches and scuba diving.
2. Komodo Island in Indonesia - famous for unusual dragon-lizards. These are the ancient lizards, the largest on Earth. The territory of this and the neighboring island ( Rincha ) is completely given to the national park of Indonesia, but here there are several settlements of aborigines.
3. The island of Palambak in Sumatra is a real diving paradise in Indonesia. There is only one hotel, which guarantees the tourist the most secluded holiday in the whole country.
4. A thousand islands are an archipelago of many small land areas in the Javanese Sea of ​​Indonesia. In fact, there are only 105 of them, and not 1000. Water sports, studying the diversity of marine fauna and flora are popular here.