Papua Irian Jaya Travel Guide

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:: Papua/Irian Jaya Island Travel Guide.

Irian Jaya is Indonesia’s largest and easternmost province and covers the western half of the world’s second largest island and the capital of Irian Jaya is Jayapura. Irian Jaya consists of two provinces, Papua and West Papua. It was previously known by various names, including Netherlands New Guinea (1895 – 1 October 1962), West New Guinea (1 October 1962 – 1 May 1963), West Irian (1 May 1963 – 1973), and Irian Jaya (1973 – 2000). The incorporation of western New Guinea into Indonesia remains controversial with human rights NGOs, including some supporters in the United States Congress and other bodies, as well as many of the territory's indigenous population. Many indigenous inhabitants and human rights NGOs refer to it as West Papua.

In 2003, the Indonesian central government declared that the province would be split into three provinces: Papua Province (Irian Jaya), Central Irian Jaya Province, and West Irian Jaya Province. Opposition to this resulted in the plan for Central Irian Jaya province being scrapped, and even the designation of West Irian Jaya Province is still legally unclear. Despite this, the West Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Barat) province was formed on February 6, 2006 and the name was officially changed to West Papua (Papua Barat) on February 7, 2007. The independent sovereign state of Papua New Guinea (PNG) borders Papua Province to the east.

The people of the island can be divided into more than 250 subgroup, which are closely related to the island along the southern rimof the pacific and include among others, the Merindamin, Yah'ray, Asmat, Mandobo, Dani and Afyat. Those in the central highlands still maintain their customs and traditions and because of the terrain have virtually been untouched by outside influences. Communications have always been difficult here and different tribes have lived, for the most part, in isolation even of each other, resulting in an incredibly diverse mixture of cultures.

Geographically on this island is a land of exceptional natural grandeur and it has enormous diversity from swampland at the southern coast, to Savannah, and snow-covered mountains. The highlands consist largely of sedimentary limestone, sandstones and shale of tertiary periods. Volcanic rock is not common in the mountains, but in one of the few places an igneous intrusion has appeared at Mountain Tembagapura in the Sudirman Mountains the outcrop has proved to be incredibly rich in copper, gold and silver and is now the site of the world's most productive copper mine. Eternal snow capped mountain ridges more than 5,000 meters high, with walls plunge hundreds of meters down onto floors filled with small glacier lakes. It has scenic beaches in abundance as well as immense stretches of marshlands. Cool grassy meadows lie at the foot of the towering mountains. Rivers cut through dark forests until their sluggish, crocodile infested mouths disgorge the water into the sea.

The highest peak of the central mountain range is Puncak Jayawijaya (5,500 meters, Carstensz Pyramide). Second and third are Mount Trikora (5,160 meters) and Mount Yamin (5,100 meters), respectively. The biggest lake is Paniai, followed in order of declining size by the lakes Ronbenbai and Sentani, both in the vicinity of Jayapura, and Anggigita near Manokwari.

Rivers and lakes add to the beauty of Irian Jaya. Membramo River, the mother of all rivers, lines the Irian Jaya's map from north to south. This river then splits into many secondary rivers. Lake Sentani nearby Jayapura, and lake Habema near the Baliem Valley are just two famous ones among many others.

Irian Jaya/Papua is a nature lovers paradise it has the richest concentration of plant life in Indonesia and perhaps in the world. With hundreds of species used in medicinal treatment, over 2,500 species of orchid including giant orchid of Rafflesia Arnoldii Amophophallus. The fauna is also very diverse with marsupials, reptiles, insects and approximately 1,500 varieties of bird including well known bird of paradise (paradise spoda), crown pigeon (gonravictoria) and cassowary (casuarius).

:: Asmat Tribe.
The Asmat tribe resides in the tidal swamplands of West Papua’s south coast. They are renowned amongst tribal art experts world wide as woodcarvers of the highest order. They were previously notorious as head-hunters and cannibals. The Asmat Wowipit (wood carver) has a truly spiritual approach to carving and each piece made is imbued with the spirit energy of their ancestors. An Asmat carving can therefore be regarded as a bridge between the material and spirit worlds. The Asmat believe that their creator – FUMERAPITJS – carved their ancestors from trees and gave them the blessing of life, so from the very beginning the relationship of carver to wood is totally sacred.
Asmat territory is remote, not always easily accessible. A maze of rivers runs through the lowland swamp forests and the only way to travel is by motorised dug-out between the small villages that fringe the rivers. Aside from local disputes the Asmat are now by and large a peaceful artistic people. They subsist on a diet of sago palm supplemented by fish, prawns and some fowl. They have a particularly strong relationship and regard for the human skull, hence the history of head-hunting, and particularly the skull of a revered ancestor. Skulls are used as pillows or hung as a pendant forming a potent contact point with the spirit world.
If you are of mystical, inquisitive nature, a visit to the Asmat and an experience of their lifestyle and beliefs will be very rewarding indeed. Signs and links to the spirit-world are everywhere. It should be stressed that the Asmat region is sometimes difficult and uncomfortable. There is a lot of mud and insects and any visitor should be prepared for that reality. However, if you have a real interest in probing and understanding Asmat culture then this would be the trip of a lifetime.

:: Dani Tribe.
The Dani people, also spelled ‘Ndani’, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west, are a people from the central highlands of Papua. Linguists identify at least four sub-groupings of Dani: The Lower-Grand Valley Dani (20,000 speakers), Mid-Grand Valley Dani (50,000 speakers), Upper-Grand Valley Dani (20,000 speakers), and the Western Dani (180,000 speakers). They are one of the most populous tribes in the highlands, and are found spread out through the highlands. The Dani are one of the most well known ethnic groups in Papua, due to the relatively numerous tourists who visit the Baliem Valley area where they predominate.The pig features very strongly in their local culture, being the most important tool used in bartering, especially in dowries. Likewise pig feasts are extremely important to celebrate events communally, the success of a feast, and that of a village chief or organizer, is often gauged by the number of pigs slaughtered. The Dani have an unusual method of cooking pig, and other staple crops such as sweet potato, banana, and cassava. They heat some stones in a fire till they are extremely hot, they then wrap cuts of meat and pieces of sweet potato or banana inside banana leaves. The food package is then lowered into a pit which has been lined with some of the hot stones described above, the remaining hot stones are then placed on top, and the pit is covered in grass and a cover to keep steam in. After a couple of hours of broiling, the pile is opened and food is removed from the pile and eaten.

The Dani language does not differentiate between any colors, except for the achromatic black and white. This trait makes it an interesting field of research for language psychologists, e.g. Eleanor Rosch, eager to know whether there is a link between way of thought and language. Changes in the Dani way of life over the past century are tied to the encroachment of modernity and globalization, despite the tourists’ brochures describing trekking in the highlands with people from the ’stone age’. Observers have noted that pro-independence and anti-Indonesian sentiment tends to run higher in highland areas than for other areas of Papua. There are cases of abuses where Dani and other Papuans have been shot and/or imprisoned trying to raise the flag of West Papua, the Morning Star.

:: Bauzi Tribe.
Bauzi tribe consists of a group of 1500 people living in the north-central part of the Indonesian province of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). The Bauzi area consists of much of the lower Mamberamo area in northern Papua. While the Bauzi people were historically a fierce animistic people group, they are now 65% Christian. For the most part, tribal warfare is no longer a large part of Bauzi culture and all Bauzi people speak the same language. In recent years, linguists have been studying the language and translating various literature, including the Bible, into the Bauzi language.

:: Korowai Tribe.
Korowai is one of the isolated tribes living in Papua regions, the famous name of this peoples we called “the Tree house tribe”. The Korowai populate the lowland rainforests of south-central Papua, a region that sits between 100 and 200 metres above sea-level.

The Korowai tribe live in tree houses usually built between six and 25 metres above ground but they can be as high as 50 metres in times of tribal conflict. Stone and bone tools are the standard here – surely one of the last remaining cultures in the world which use these instruments as a matter of course. Any serious primitive art collector heavily prizes a Korowai stone-axe. These people also make heavy use of Flying Fox, Dog and Pig bones for body decoration and they also always move from one place to another in order to be close to the foods and hunted animals proided by nature. Both Koroway and hunter and gatherer who moved and build a new tree house once every 2 or 3 years. For this reasons we do not fix the place of our destination or what activities we do day by day.

They subsist by hunting and gathering in a similar fashion to The Asmat Tribe. Here are a people usually completely naked (maybe a leaf), fully immersed in nature and with no apparent interest in anything other than what they already are.

:: Carstensz Pyramid.
Carstensz Pyramid is the highest mountain on the island of New Guinea, on the greater Australian continent and in Oceania. It is the highest point between the Himalaya and the Andes and the highest island peak in the world. The peak is located in the western central highlands of Papua, the Indonesian western half of the island, and is the highest peak in the country. The rock climbing difficulty on Carstensz Pyramid is up to 5.8 for short steeps, but most of the climbing is scrambling. It is important that you have basic rock climbing and are comfortable with rappelling. Trekking to the Carstensz Pyramid is one of the most beautiful treks Papua can offer. Although it is demanding the things you’ll see and experience on the way, are wonderful and absolutely unique. It begins at the height of 2000 m in an area of mountainous rain forest. You wade through rivers, climb over logs and primitive bridges, and then the biotope changes into a short belt of misty forests, which opens to the Kembalo Plato that is situated at 3500 m. Here, the endless forest of the giant tree ferns begins. This forest reaches all the way to the Snow Mountains, where the giant mountains begin. The massive of the Carstensz Pyramid towers over the Kembalo Plato with super elevation of 1500 m. The route to the New Zealand Pass is an alpine experience. At the same time it is a test of the porters. Then you climb to the height of 4500 m. The short trek, between the mountains resembling the world’s most beautiful mountain parks, is concluded by a descent to the Merental Valley. Our Base Camp is situated on the foothill of the Carstensz Pyramid in this valley. At this place you are at the height 4200 m, and even here it snows in the morning. You are separated from the top of the Carstensz Pyramid by 684 meters.

Now the island of Irian Jaya/Papua has become one of the most popular tourism destination in Indonesia. Including tourism object that come popular is Raja Ampat Island. Raja Ampat consists of over 1,500 small islands. The four largest islands are Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati and Misool. 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. The tourist would be able to experience the best dives sites within those islands, which include Cape Kri, Mellisa's Garden, Sardines Reef, The Passage, Nudibranch Rock, Wai Island Night Dive.

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