Indonesia Travel Guide

The islands of the Indonesian archipelago are strung like beads across the equator. Clear blue seas lap pristine beaches, gentle breezes carry scents of spices and flowers, and divers are entranced by the ocean’s riches. Inland, dramatic volcanic ranges tower above a green mantle of terraced hillsides and lush rainforest.

Bali offers an image of paradise: stunning scenery, gentle sarong-clad people and sunsets of legendary glory. On peaceful Lombok, life moves at a slower pace, while bustling Jakarta exhibits Indonesia’s cosmopolitan, modern face. Komodo Island’s ‘living dinosaurs’ and the entrancing ‘sea gardens’ of Suwalesi invite exploration, as do Borobudur’s architectural treasures, which include 5km (3 miles) of Buddhist relief carvings. Adventure-seekers head for Kalimantan’s remote jungle interior or explore Sumatra, with its teeming wildlife and wealth of tribal groups.

Since then, militant Islam has been threatening to tear the archipelago apart. Examples of inter-fighting include the Moluccan Islands, one of the few parts of Indonesia with a majority Christian population: since the beginning of 1999, they have been engaged in an increasingly violent struggle with Muslim militants that has claimed thousands of lives. Suicide bombing has occurred in Bali, most recently on 1 October 2005, and there remains a high threat from terrorism in Indonesia. The cataclysmic tsunami that occurred on 26 December 2004 further hampered Indonesia's economic and touristic progress.

However, from such a devastating tsunami also came a much-needed glimmer of hope: a peace agreement with separatist rebels was reached just as 2006 dawned, resulting in the withdrawal of state security forces from the Aceh province. In return, Free Aceh Movement rebels began disarmament and vowed to abolish their armed wing. Such withdrawal effectively ended a 29-year conflict that had claimed thousands upon thousands of lives.However, until such a catalogue of problems are fully resolved, many tourists will be deterred from travelling to Indonesia and will therefore miss out on its myriad marvels; and many of its residents will remain living amidst poverty, corruption and peril.