Most tourists go to Bali for its pristine beaches, but don’t venture beyond the islands there. Bali no doubt is one of the most beautiful islands. With 17k islands, Indonesia beyond Bali is a world in itself
Indonesia has one of the best beaches, diving sites, volcanoes, and temples. It is fascinating how Hinduism spread in Southeast Asia to Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and slowly merged into Buddhism. Angkor Wat, Prambanan, Champasak have some of the best Hindu temples outside India. Ramayana is quite prominent in names and ballet dance forms.
Not just Indians, Indonesia gets 40% of tourist arrivals into Bali making it the most visited place in the country. There is so much diversity with terraced rice fields, beaches, rainforests, diving sites, temples that everyone can find something they like. The Indonesian government has launched Ten new Balis as a campaign to promote other equally beautiful destinations. The list was shorted to five realistic ones later
- Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara- gateway to Komodo islands that are the only home to endangered Komodo dragons
Labuan bajo island is itself very beautiful. Beyond Komodo islands, you can find one of the best pink and white beaches if you take a day trip
Read more about Flores and Komodo island here
- Yogyakarta in Java- Aptly city that is fit to prosper. The largest Buddha temple Borobudur, Prambanan temples, and of course Mt. Merapi are here
Read more about Yogyakarta here
- Lake Toba in North Sumatra- Has the world’s largest crater lake. We had heard about this from Nilesh Oak’s theories about Toba explosion that shaped ice age and formed layered sediments in earth’s crust that can be found in places like Jwalapuram in India, showing human presence 70k years ago
- Mandalika in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara: For special tourism economic zone and world class racing circuit
- Likupang in North Sulawesi for its beaches (added as super priory although not a part of original 10 list)
- Bromo-Tengger-Semeru in Java for Mt. Bromo and Semeru. Interesting fact- you can find Lord Ganesha’s idol on the hike to volcano crater brim on Mt. Bromo
- Beitlung: Small island off the Sumatran coast
- Tanjun Lesung in Java: For beaches and granite rocks of different shapes
- Thousand islands: Divers paradise off the coast of Jakarta
- Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi: Underwater heaven and water sports destination
- Morotai in North Maluku: Peral in the Pacific lip, famous for beaches
You will notice that most of these are beaches and tourists wouldn’t like to just cover only beaches.
Adding my personal favorites in addition to Mt. Bromo, which you can cover when you are visiting the larger islands
- Banda islands: For fascinating Nutmeg cultivation. We got to know about this from Joanna Lumley’s Spice Trail Adventures
- Raja Ampat islands in Southwest Papua region: For 1500+ karst islands and scuba diving
- Jakarta: The sinking and most populous capital of Indonesia
- Rantepao in Tana Toraja for traditional Tongkonan houses
- Wai Rebo in Flores- For conical houses Mbaru Niang
- Mt. Rinjani, an active volcano in Lombok. We got a very good aerial view on the flight from Bali to Labuan Bajo. Strongly recommend paying for a window seat, which is typically not included automatically in the flight fare
- Gili islands- Close to Lombok and worth a visit if you are anyway in the region
- Kalimantan- For rainforests and orangutans
- Kelimutu crater lakes in Flores for their color changing water. The three craters are red, dark and light green color
- Ijen crater for turquoise colored acid lake and “blue fire” at night caused by sulfuric gases
It is impossible to cover all key attractions within one trip. We come from a coastal place, so most beaches seem similar. We wanted a mix of ancient architecture and nature and shortlisted Labuan Bajo and Yogyakarta outside Bali.
A quick note that organized tours start getting thinner beyond Jakarta and Bali, so roll up your sleeves and travel like a local at these places!