Best Indonesia

LB1 is the principal fossil specimen of Homo floresiensis, a small-bodied hominin discovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave on the Indonesian island of Flores. The partial skeleton includes a skull and indicates an adult individual about one meter tall, leading to the informal nickname Hobbit. Associated...

Sundaland is a biogeographical region in Southeast Asia that includes the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. The rainforests in this area represent a globally significant biodiversity hotspot. The region's tropical forests support high levels of endemic species, including...

Clifford Geertz was an American anthropologist central to the development of interpretive, or symbolic, anthropology. He introduced the method of "thick description," which treats culture as a system of meaning to be read rather than measured. His fieldwork was primarily conducted in Indonesia and M...

'The Act of Killing' is a deeply unsettling and innovative documentary that confronts perpetrators of the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-68. By asking them to recreate their crimes as if they were making a movie, director Joshua Oppenheimer forces them to confront their actions in a surreal and di...

Gojek is a mobile technology platform originating in Indonesia. It provides transportation services through ride-sharing and facilitates various digital transactions including food delivery and financial operations. The company serves primarily urban populations across Southeast Asia, particularly i...

The Maros-Pangkep rock art consists of petroglyphs found within limestone caves on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. These images, primarily hand stencils, are exceptionally significant as some date back at least 39,900 years, representing some of the earliest known figurative artwork globally. The sites...

Wallace's Giant Bee, *Megachile pluto*, is a large solitary bee native to Indonesia. It’s notable as the largest living bee species, with a wingspan exceeding 60 millimeters. This insect belongs to the Megachilidae family and is primarily found in areas with abundant flowering plants. Researchers an...

Joshua Oppenheimer’s *The Look of Silence* is a powerful 2014 documentary exploring the aftermath of Indonesia’s 1965 genocide. The film follows an optometrist seeking to expose the complicity of individuals who participated in his brother's murder decades earlier. Through unsettling close-ups and p...

Mike Morwood was a New Zealand-born archaeologist and professor at the University of Wollongong in Australia. He is most famous for co-leading the joint Indonesian-Australian archaeological team that discovered the skeletal remains of Homo floresiensis. The discovery, officially announced in the jou...

Lake Toba is a large freshwater crater lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera formed by the Toba supervolcanic eruption about 74,000 years ago. Covering roughly 1,145 km², it is the largest volcanic lake in the world and contains Samosir Island, a large resurgent island near its cen...

Gunung Leuser National Park is a large conservation area spanning approximately 7,927 square kilometers in the northern region of Sumatra, Indonesia. It forms part of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park's montane and lowland forests represen...

Lorentz National Park is a protected area located in Papua, Indonesia. Covering 2.5 million hectares, it is the largest national park in Southeast Asia and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. The park is distinguished by its dramatic altitudinal gradient, spanning from equatorial glaci...

Masjid Raya Baiturrahman is a historic mosque located in the center of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Originally constructed in 1879 under the administration of Dutch colonial General van der Heyden, it was designed with Mughal architectural influences and distinctive black domes. The mosque is notable for...

The Raid 2 follows Rama as he infiltrates Jakarta’s criminal underworld to uncover corruption involving law enforcement. Iko Uwais reprises his role alongside a new cast including Arifin Putra, investigating a network of collusion between police and organized crime. The film depicts intense action s...

Often referred to as the 'Amazon of the Seas,' the Coral Triangle encompasses parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. It contains the highest diversity of coral and reef fish in the world. This region is vital for global marine health, providing...

Mendut Temple is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple located in Central Java, Indonesia, positioned in a straight line with the Borobudur and Pawon temples. The temple houses three large stone statues: a 3-meter seated Buddha flanked by Bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani. Mendut forms par...

The Raja Ampat reefs, located in Indonesia’s West Papua region, represent an exceptionally rich marine environment. This collection of fringing reefs supports unparalleled biodiversity, boasting over 600 coral and 1,700 fish species – making it a globally significant site for scientific research and...

The Tumpak Sewu waterfall is a significant cascade located in East Java, Indonesia. It features a dramatically tiered drop of approximately 120 meters within a deep canyon. The unique semicircular formation of the falls makes it a popular subject for photographers and offers a compelling natural lan...

Puncak Jaya, also known as the Carstensz Pyramid, is a 4,884-meter peak situated in the Sudirman Range of Indonesia's Papua province. It is the highest mountain on the island of New Guinea and the highest island peak in the world. As the highest point in Oceania, it is considered one of the Seven Su...

Wallacetrigona incisa is a stingless bee recorded from Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the only species placed in the genus Wallacetrigona. Like other stingless bees, it belongs to the tribe Meliponini, whose members are eusocial and possess greatly reduced, nonfunctional stingers. The genus name honors na...

Komodo National Park in Indonesia safeguards the world’s largest lizards, Komodo dragons, alongside exceptional marine life. This UNESCO World Heritage site offers opportunities for wildlife observation, including dragon encounters, and exploration of vibrant coral reefs through boat tours, hiking,...

Pura Tanah Lot is a Hindu Balinese sea temple situated on a large tidal rock formation off the southwestern coast of Bali, Indonesia. The shrine is attributed to the 16th-century Shaivite sage Dang Hyang Nirartha, who is credited with establishing Bali's religious traditions. It is classified as one...

Lorong Waktu is an Indonesian television series exploring time travel through a sophisticated machine developed by Ustād Addin. The show follows Haji Husin and Zidan’s adventures, spanning twenty-seven seasons from 1999 to 2006, initially broadcast by SCTV during Ramadan. A subsequent animated adapt...

Kerinci Seblat National Park is a vast protected natural area situated on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Spanning approximately 13,791 square kilometers, it is the largest national park on the island and forms a critical section of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra UNESCO site. The park...

The Raid depicts a unit of Indonesian police tasked with infiltrating a Jakarta apartment building controlled by a drug trafficker. Following an initial raid, the squad becomes trapped and engages in intense combat against a surrounding group of armed criminals within the multi-story structure. The...

Pura Uluwatu is a Balinese Hindu sea temple situated on a steep cliff edge along the southwestern coast of the Bukit Peninsula in Bali, Indonesia. It is classified as one of the island's six directional temples, known as sad kahyangan, which are positioned to provide spiritual protection. The temple...

Cenderawasih Bay is the largest bay in Indonesia, situated off the northern coast of the Papua provinces. A significant portion of the bay is enclosed within the Teluk Cenderawasih National Park, a protected marine area encompassing numerous coastal and island ecosystems. The region is known for its...

Masjid Istiqlal is the national mosque of Indonesia, located in Jakarta near Merdeka Square. Completed in 1978 and designed by architect Frederich Silaban, it is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia by capacity. The mosque's modernist design uses reinforced concrete and features a large central dome...

Ujung Kulon National Park, located at the western tip of Java in Banten province, Indonesia, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. The park protects the last significant tract of lowland tropical rainforest on Java and the only remaining wild population of the Javan rhinoceros (Rhin...