Visiting the Mentawai Tribe: A Complete Guide

Who are the Mentawai Tribe?

The Mentawai people have been the indigenous inhabitants of the Mentawai Islands long before the islands became a part of Indonesia. What's unique about them is their way of life, which emphasizes a cooperative lifestyle deeply connected to their natural surroundings.

Their spiritual beliefs are deeply rooted in animism and shamanism, where they believe that all natural objects have spirits, and shamans play a crucial role in their society, conducting rituals and healing practices.

I was lucky enough to witness a funeral ritual that involved 3 shamans chanting and dancing around the house, as the mother of the lost baby screamed in anguish for her loss before they brought in livestock to slaughter and feed the whole village for a day. It was wild, to say the least.

The Mentawai people also have their own language that they use to communicate with one another, but they also know the Indonesian Bahasa language to communicate with the outside world. Fun fact: although they have their own spoken language, they don't actually have a written language, so they still use Latin alphabets to write.

They rely mostly on hunting, gathering, fishing, and very small-scale farming for their food, and use makeshift equipment made from local materials found in the jungle, such as fish nets, bows, and arrows.

One of the coolest aspects of Mentawai culture is their body art. Both men and women are adorned with intricate tattoos that personify them, their achievements, and their social status. These tattoos, along with traditional attire and adornments like vibrant headbands and sharpened teeth, are quite common to see, especially on the shamans.

Visiting the Mentawai tribe offers a rare glimpse into the way of life of our ancestors that is still practiced by the Mentawai people to this day. They are also very curious about the outside world, which is how you will be able to go into the jungle and live with them while observing their practices firsthand.

Where Do the Mentawai Tribe Lives?

They often have 2 homes, one at Muntei near the main port so they can stay in contact with the world, and another in the jungle, where you will be spending your time with them. They live in a communal longhouse called "uma", which is typically built on stilts and made from local materials such as wood, bamboo, and palm leaves.

Despite their connection with the modern world, the Mentawai people have shown strong resilience in preserving their ancient traditions and way of life. That is what makes them so unique compared to the other tribes in Indonesia, and you really have to experience it first-hand to understand them.

How Many Days to Spend with the Mentawai Tribe?

I highly recommend spending at least 3 to 5 days with the Mentawai tribe to fully immerse yourself in their way of life and truly appreciate being off the grid. Also, the ferries between Padang and Siberut Island do not run every day, and it wouldn't be worth the long trip just to spend 1 or 2 days with the tribe, in my opinion.

Since the ferry schedule is subject to change, I highly recommend you reach out to a tour company like Mentawai Tribe and tell them when you want to visit the tribe. They will help organize an itinerary that matches the ferry schedule for you.

How and Where to Book a Mentawai Tribe Tour?

The best way to find and book the Mentawai Tribe tour is to search for locally operated travel agencies that organize tours around Sumatra. They often have a tour package for the Mentawai Tribe, and you can contact them from there.

The tour operator I used is Mentawai Tribe, and they are highly specialized in providing an ethical tour for those who are interested in the Mentawai culture and want to visit them. They were very responsive to my inquiries, and they helped organize the whole trip for me.

I was solo traveling in Sumatra when I contacted them. I asked them to find me a group I could join, and they found another solo traveler, Ugnė from Lithuania, and teamed us up. I can't really thank them enough, as she was awesome. Being alone (the tribe doesn't speak much English except our guide) in the jungle for 5 days would have driven me crazy. 😂

They also helped me organize all the transfers from Padang to Siberut and back, got all the ferry tickets for us, put us in contact with the local guide via WhatsApp prior to the trip, and provided us with all the information to help keep our minds at ease before the trip.

If you are looking for an ethical tour operator specializing in organizing Mentawai tribe tours, be sure to reach out to Mentawai Tribe. Shout out to my guide in Berastagi, who tipped me off about this tour company!

How Much Does a Mentawai Tribe Tour Cost?

The price of a 5-day Mentawai Tribe tour will depend on whether you are there during the high season (June to September) or the low season (October to May), and the number of travelers in your group.

• For solo travelers: 545 EUR for the low season and 610 EUR for the high season.
• 2 - 3 People: 335 EUR for the low season and 370 EUR for the high season.
• 4 - 6 People: 290 EUR for the low season and 330 EUR for the high 6season.
• 7 People Max: 250 EUR for the low season and 280 EUR for the high 6season.

Since the tour company put me with another solo traveler, I paid about 310 EUR, excluding a one-way ferry ticket to Siberut as I was traveling from Tuapejat, not Padang, so I had to pay for myself.

The best thing about Mentawai Tribe is that they are very transparent about the cost, where the money goes, and how it engages the local community, which I think is really cool.

They also set your expectations straight right before you book as the trip can be pretty rough for some. For me, the rougher the better, the more memorable! If you are looking for a good ethical company to go with, be sure to reach out to Mentawai Tribe.

What Are the Sleeping and Toilet Arrangements Like?

You will be sleeping on the wooden floor with a thin sleeping mat with a mosquito net. You won't be given a pillow or a blanket, so you either have to bring them yourself or roll up your clothes to make a pillow and use a jacket as a blanket as I did.

The jungle can be quite loud at night, especially around 4 - 5 AM towards sunrise when the roosters jump onto the house's windows and crow their hearts out like there's no tomorrow. They are like clockwork, arriving right on time every single morning, so be sure to pack good earplugs.

For toilets, the world is yours, as in, they don't really have any. We just go into the jungle, find a bush that is high enough for us to squat behind, and do our business.

For showers, we had a river nearby where we could jump in and wash up. It was only a few steps away from the house, so it was quite convenient. As you can see, this is not a comfortable tour, so be sure to set your expectations right before booking the trip.

Things to Know Before Doing the Mentawai Tribe Tour

• Prepare to rough it out: You have to accept living in the same conditions as the local community in the remote village, sleeping with very rudimentary comfort on a floor mat with a mosquito net.
• Accept their living standards: Given the conditions of poverty and isolation, the families that welcome us offer comfort and cleanliness that are basic and far from "Western standards". It's crucial to tolerate these short-term inconveniences to fully enjoy your stay and overall experience.
• Accept their culture: Their culture may sometimes go against what the West perceives as acceptable. You have to show good mental preparedness and be as adaptable as you can when you are living with them.
• Prepare to walk on muddy trails: Because Mentawai traditional communities live in remote jungle areas, accessing these communities isn't straightforward. The trekking conditions involve navigating muddy, slippery, and uneven terrain. Sometimes, you may need to walk on logs placed over muddy ground, which the Mentawai use as bridges to access further routes.
• No electricity: There is no electricity or cell services in the jungle so be sure to pack enough power banks to keep your cameras and phone juiced up and let friends and families know you will be gone for 5 days before entering the jungle.
• Prepare for the weather: Since you will be in the rainforest, you can expect hot, humid, and rainy (duh) weather even when you are visiting during the dry season between June and September. Be sure to pack light hiking clothes and a rain poncho/jacket for the trip. Also, pack a swimsuit to swim in the river when it gets hot outside.
• Don't wear expensive stuff: Avoid wearing expensive accessories like watches or necklaces as sometimes they like to ask you to give them as a gift which is counterproductive and may even harm your relationships with the community.
• Enjoy it: Last but not least, enjoy your experience may it be going fishing with the ladies of the house, making loincloths, or even trying out the coconut worm specialty dish. Go with the flow and you will come out of the experience happier and stronger.

5 Days Itinerary for Visiting the Mentawai Tribe

Day 1: Going into the Siberut Jungle

On your first day, you will be picked up at your hotel in Padang at 6 AM to catch the 7 AM ferry to Siberut Island. This is going to be a long 7-hour journey as you will be stopping in North Siberut first at 11 AM before the ferry departs to South Siberut where the tribes are, at 12 PM. Be sure to pack some snacks and water for the journey or prepare cash so you can buy them on the ferry!

Once you arrive in South Siberut, you will then be picked up by your local guide and taken to Muntei Tourism Village where you can then leave unnecessary stuff here and take only the essentials into the forest. You can also rent or buy rubber boots here. Trust me, you are going to need them in the jungle.

Once you are all packed and all the supplies are ready to be transported, your guide will take you to the river on foot, and you will board a motor canoe before you continue your journey along the river deep into the jungle.

The canoe ride should take about an hour before you arrive at a makeshift pier where you will disembark from the canoe and begin a 30-minute trek to your "uma" or house. This is where the reality of the jungle hits you as you navigate the muddy trails to the house.

You will be switching between walking on slippery plank woods and on ankle-deep muddy trails, and this is where the rubber boots come in. Your guide should also make you a long wooden stick so you can use that to help navigate the muddy trails better.

Once you arrive at the house, you will be introduced to the people there. Since an uma is a communal house, there can be several people living there and visitors coming in and out every day. Our house was one of the largest houses in the area, and we had over 3 families in the house throughout our trip.

You will also be shown where you can shower and go to the toilet. Usually, it's the river nearby to shower, and toilets are everywhere there are bushes high enough for you to do your business behind.

Once you are settled, you will then have a communal dinner with the families. The food is prepared with the ingredients they brought with them from town, and you can expect simple but delicious dishes like Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng, fried eggs, etc.

After dinner, you can then socialize with the tribe as well as with your tour mate and get to know them better, as you will be spending the next 4 days with them in the jungle.

You will likely go to bed pretty early here as there is not much to do except talk since there is no Internet for you to escape to. Put on your earplugs before you go to bed because, trust me, the roosters will come in the early mornings to wake you up if you don't.

Day 2: Making loincloths and poisonous weapons

The schedule in the jungle is pretty loose, just like how they live their lives out here, so you can wake up anytime you like. There will be people walking around in the morning, preparing food, and getting ready for breakfast though, so it's not like you can sleep in until noon 😂.

Once you have woken up, the guide will provide you with coffee and breakfast, which is often toast with fried eggs or banana pancakes, and you will start your day around 10 AM.

Your first activity of the day is to follow the Mentawai Flower Man or a shaman into the jungle as he goes around looking for trees where he can use their material to make loincloths, a one-piece garment that the shaman often wears.

The shaman who was with us was around 80 years old, and he walked around the muddy jungle trail as if it were nothing. We followed him for about 30 minutes before he found the tree he wanted.

All of a sudden, he started swinging his machete and downed the tree in less than 5 minutes. He is 80 years old, for crying out loud, and he just cut a tree like it is nothing. It goes to show just how being active and moving all the time can really lengthen your age!

Once he downed the tree, he then started slicing a long piece of the underside of the bark and pounding them flat to create an elastic piece of loincloth he can use. It took him about 30 minutes to do all that, and even though he was huffing and puffing, I mean who wouldn't, you gotta really give it to him. Such an incredible show of strength and endurance by the Mentawai people.

After the shaman got the pieces he wanted, we then headed back to camp, and he dried them in the sun until they became like fibrous cotton he could wear. They can really live out their lives just by relying on the jungle!

After the first activity, you will then have a lunch break and free time until late afternoon to avoid the mid-day heat. This is often the time when we would go to the river and freshen up.

Ugnė and I would sit in the river for hours, refreshing ourselves and talking, enjoying the quiet time away from the house. I must admit, the Mentawai people smoke a lot, like non-stop, day and night, every single day, so it was a good break to catch some fresh air.

In the late afternoon, when it is not too hot outside, you will then continue your day with another activity. This time you will go around the house with your guide and gather some ingredients to make poisonous arrows.

This is the weapon of choice they often use to hunt larger animals as well as settle tribal conflicts, mostly stemming from territorial disputes. Each clan has its own territory and they can be pretty protective about it. Thankfully, violent conflict doesn't happen very often anymore. Phew 😮‍💨.

After they show you how to make the poisonous arrows, you will then have more free time to chill with the tribe before dinner time. As you can see, there is a lot of downtime in between activities and if you want to kill some time, I highly recommend you bring a deck of cards or something that you can play with your tour mate.

I forgot to bring one, but thankfully, Ugnė and I have a lot in common and we ended up talking all day every day, so much so that the shaman wondered what we were talking about all the time 😂.

At night, don't forget to go out there and look up at the sky. It's not often that you will be in a place where there is no light pollution, and if the sky is clear, you will be able to gaze upon the mighty Milky Way that straddles across the night sky. I will never pass up a chance to see the Milky Way with my own eyes. It always fascinates me!

Day 3: Digging and Eating Coconut Worms

This is the day we have all been waiting for! Today, we are going to go out into the jungle and find some coconut worms to cook and eat for lunch! I am pretty excited about it as I have never tried it before.

Again, we woke up around 8 AM, had breakfast, and by 10 AM, we followed another shaman into the jungle to look for big dead trees. These dead trees can easily be recognized as they often lack the upper bark. Only the tree trunk is still standing.

Once the shaman finds one, he will then start cutting the tree down. The whole process was really impressive to watch. He first cleared the ground around the tree to make way for the tree trunk and started swinging his machete at it.

He would do it many times until he created enough of a cut to start using the tree weight to down the tree. It took him only 5 minutes to do all this. When the tree fell, we felt the ground below our feet shaking like a minor earthquake, it was wild.

After he cuts down the tree, he will then start cutting through the top part of the trunk, and you will find your lunch: the sago worms or coconut worms, the larvae of the red palm weevil, which are considered a delicacy here.

The worms are soft and squishy, and they often move quite quickly, so the shaman would often break their necks before throwing them into a tree leaf he prepared so that he could pack them up for later. The whole process is quite a sight to behold.

Once he is satisfied with the number of worms caught, he will then head back to camp to prepare the delicacy while you continue to hike around to find fresh coconuts for refreshments before you head back to camp.

At lunch, you will finally have a chance to taste the worms. Of course, I tried them. I didn't travel all the way into the jungle of Mentawai to chicken out at the last minute. The worms are well-cooked and sprinkled with salt. They actually look much better now that they have been cooked.

As I put sago worms in my mouth, I was surprised to find them so juicy and creamy. It was almost like biting into a creamy custard egg, but with the crispy texture of an insect and a bit of nutty, coconutty flavor. They were surprisingly delicious and apparently a good source of protein!

After the feast, you can then spend the rest of the day resting and hanging out with your tour mate before having dinner with the families and heading to bed, concluding your second day in the jungle.

Day 4: Making Traps and Fishing

On your fourth day, you will be going around the jungle again, this time quite far away from the camp as you will be observing the tribe gathering materials to make animal traps and set them up deep in the jungle.

It took us over an hour to finally gather all the materials. This is probably the hardest hike you will have to do during this trip as you navigate the thick jungle, bushwhacking your way up a small mountain where you can then start laying down traps.

The tribe will show you how they make it and how the mechanism works. They used these traps to catch small to medium-sized animals like wild boars, and they would often memorize the location and check the trap every week.

After the trap is set up, you will then have to spend another hour walking back to the house. We came up the mountain, but we decided to take the path along the river down, which made it a little easier. There were many scratchy and spiky plants around the area, so be extra careful. I got some nasty scratches on my arms from this hike.

Once you are back at the camp, you will then have lunch and a break until late afternoon, when you will go with the tribe women to fish in the river for some river shrimps, shells, and fish.

The way they do it is pretty cool. They would go into the water and start digging into the river bank to startle the fish and catch them with a net as they try to escape.

Don't worry, you do not have to go in with them unless you want to. You can observe them from the river bank as they scour the muddy river for fish. Once they catch one, they will then put it in a long tube that they fashioned from bamboo.

We were out there for about an hour before we got back to camp for dinner time. I got to try some of the raw shells they caught and, not gonna lie, it didn't taste great without the seasonings. 😝

After that, we have one last dinner together as a family, and then we all go to bed quite early as we will be leaving the jungle quite early so that the guide has time to buy us the ferry ticket back to Padang.

Day 5: Heading Back to Civilization

After 5 days off-the-grid in the jungle, you should be feeling attuned to yourself. That is how I felt, and I couldn't wait to go back and enjoy the little things in life that we always take for granted.

We began our day at 7 AM with breakfast, and by 8 AM, we were packed and ready to hike back to the canoe. The return journey along the muddy trail should be quicker now that you're accustomed to it. Once we reach the river, we'll be taken back to Muntei Village for lunch, while your guide will get the ferry ticket back for you.

After you say goodbye to the Mentawai families, you will then be taken by your guide on a motorcycle to the port where you can get on the 2:30 PM ferry back to Padang. It should take you about 3 hours before you arrive in the city and you can spend the night before heading to the airport and flying home the next day. Congratulations, you just survived living in the jungle with the Mentawai tribe for 5 days!

Where to Stay in Padang?

Since your trip begins and ends in Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra, you are going to have to book your accommodation on the day of your arrival and departure as the tour doesn't include the nights in Padang. Here are some of my recommended accommodations:

Budget

Kokos Hostel Padang City

$ | Dorm

See Availability

👍 Top Pick

Mid-Range

Sentosa Lodge

$$ | Double Room

See Availability

High-End

Hotel Santika Premiere Padang

$$$ | Double Room

See Availability

View More Hotels

When to Visit the Mentawai Tribe?

The best time to visit the Mentawai Tribe is between June and September when the weather is relatively dry, and the jungle trails are less slippery, making it much easier to navigate as you follow the tribe around during the day. Mind you, it is still muddy as hell, but it should be a bit more manageable.

That said, since you are on an island, the weather can be unpredictable at times with rains showering at random intervals, so be sure to pack a rain jacket even if you are visiting during the dry season.

Since the ferry between Padang and Siberut does not run every day, you will have to plan out your trip around it. For example, if you want to do the 5-day tour, you will have to be in Padang on Monday and travel to Siberut on Tuesday. You will be out of the jungle by Saturday, just in time for the 2:30 PM ferry back to Padang. Your tour company should help manage this transfer for you.

How to Get to Mentawai?

To get to Mentawai, you will first have to fly into Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra. There is an international airport there, but you can only fly there via Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia or via Medan in North Sumatra.

Your best bet is to fly into Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and then catch an AirAsia flight to Padang. Once you arrive in Padang, you can then hail a Grab taxi to get to your accommodation or catch the DAMRI Airport Bus to town. The taxi should cost about 120,000 IDR while the bus should cost 35,000 IDR per person.

To get from Padang to Mentawai, you will first have to determine how long you want to spend with the Mentawai tribe and match your date of arrival and departure to the Padang - Siberut ferry schedule as the ferry does not run every day. You can see the updated schedule at Mentawai Fast Ferry Facebook Page.

The ticket price from Padang to Siberut is 350,000 IDR per person and it should take about 5+ hours. On your way back, it should cost the same and take about 2 hours as you will be traveling directly from Siberut to Padang. These tickets should be included in the tour, so you don't have to organize anything. Just show up in Padang the day before the tour and all the logistics will be managed for you until you get back to Padang.

For more details on how to get to the Mentawai Islands, check out:How to Get to Mentawai Islands

What To Wear and Pack for the Mentawai Tribe Tour?

Since you will be spending 5 days in the rainforest, these are all the things you should pack for the trip:

• Breathable shirts: It can get pretty hot and humid in the rainforest so make sure you pack a few breathable shirts for the trip.
• Long Hiking Pants (For Women): The rainforest is full of insects, mosquitoes, spiky plants, and even leeches, so you are going to want to wear long hiking pants for this trip. For women, you can go with leggings, but make sure that it is thick enough to avoid mosquitoes biting through it.
• Long Rubber Boots: This is extremely important as the jungle is extremely muddy all the time and you will be navigating around muddy trails every day. I saw many tourists who came with normal shoes thinking they could survive the trails, most of them had to throw away their shoes at the end! Leave your shoes at your guide's place and rent one or buy one at a shop in Siberut Island before you go into the jungle.
• Waterproof Outer Shell Jacket (for women): It can rain anytime in the rainforest even in the dry season so it is always a good idea to pack a rain jacket/poncho just in case.
• Swim Suits: A swim trunk is a must-pack item as the only shower you will get in the jungle is at the river near your house.
• Earplugs: Very important unless you want to be woken up by the roosters at 4 - 5 AM every day.
• Toilet Paper: Don't forget to pack a roll of toilet paper, so you can do your business in the jungle. The tour does not provide you with one.
• Microfiber Towel: Make sure you pack a microfiber towel for the trip, preferably the one that is quick to dry as you will likely use it every day for the river shower.
• Sunscreen: You are going to need this when you are hiking around the forest with the local tribe as you follow their daily life routine.
• Insect Repellent: Rainforests in Indonesia can be quite unforgiving when it comes to insects and mosquitoes, so be sure to pack a DEET insect repellent and cover yourself with it when you are out and about in the jungle.
• First-Aid Kit: Bandages (for blisters), painkillers, disinfectant wipes (the next best thing to showers), and tiger balm are always in the first-aid kit that I have with me when I go on a hiking trip. If you have personal medication, be sure to pack that too.
• A Water Bottle: For sustainability, please bring your own water bottle instead of relying on plastic bottles in the jungle.
• A Backpack: This is what you will use to carry all your essentials like water bottles, toiletries, and clothes, for the entire trek, so you need a backpack that is at least 30L capacity or more, like Osprey Daylite 35L Travel Pack or Langly Alpha Globetrotter Backpack, for photographers out there.
• Good Low-light Camera: Since you will be in a thick rainforest where natural light doesn't shine through very well, your camera should be able to handle low-light well. I highly recommend either the Sony a7IV or Sony a7CII for this trip.
• Power Bank: There is no electricity at the house so if you have electronic to charge, be sure to bring at least 2 power banks with 20,000 mah capacity minimum, so you can keep your phone and camera juiced up for the trip.

Now that we have all the information we need, it's time to start planning your trip! Here are some resources to help you get going:

Flights: Skyscanner and Expedia are the best places to start looking for cheap flights and great deals from your home country.

Accommodation: Hostelworld, Booking.com, and Agoda.com are the ultimate go-to platforms to search for amazing hostels and hotels at affordable prices.

Travel Insurance: Heymondo covers theft, medical emergencies, cancellations, and more during your travels. Get a 5% discount if you sign up today.

Transportation: 12go is a great place to look for bus and train schedule and buy tickets online in Southeast Asia that would otherwise not have been available in English online.

Car Rental: DiscoverCars.com is a great and reliable platform to find rental cars.

Internet: Airalo is the best way to get a sim card and has reliable internet access for your trip. All you need is an esim compatible smartphone, install it on your phone prior to your trip, and you are all set.

VPN: To stay connected with people at home, I always make sure to have ProtonVPN, installed before traveling. It's FREE, and I can gain access to services that may be blocked in certain countries.

Day Trips & Tours: Viator, GetYourGuide and TripAdvisor are great platforms to search for trips and tours to join.

Tickets & Deals: Klook is always my go-to website when I want to find cheaper deals for entrance tickets to tourist attractions.

Are you planning to travel independently? Be sure to check out my guide on How To Plan A Backpacking Trip here.

Further Reading for Indonesia

I hope this travel guide will help you plan your trip to Indonesia. I have visited Indonesia more times than I could count, and I have written many articles about the country.

If you are looking for more articles about Indonesia, here is a selection of articles that might help you plan your trip to Indonesia even more.

• For a complete itinerary to Sumatra, check out: One Month Backpacking Sumatra Itinerary.
• Being the largest volcanic lake in the world, you can't visit Sumatra without visiting Lake Toba. Here are the 10 Awesome Things to do in Lake Toba, Sumatra.
• Want to travel to Lake Toba from Medan, but not sure how? Here's a guide for you: How To Get From Medan To Lake Toba.
• Want to see orangutans in the wild in Indonesia? The best place is Bukit Lawang and here's A Complete Guide to Orangutan Trekking in Bukit Lawang.
• For West Sumatra, your journey will likely begin in Padang, the capital city of the province, with a ton of things to do. Here are the 8 Best Things to Do in Padang.
• Get off the beaten path in Sumatra and visit Bukittinggi, the old capital of the Pagaruyung Kingdom, and explore the highlands with this guide: 12 Best Things to Do in Bukittinggi.
• Want to visit Bukittinggi? Here are all the best ways you can travel there: How to Get to Bukittinggi: A Complete Guide
• One of the best islands to visit in Sumatra is Mentawai. It's not just a place for surfers. You can enjoy the beach, snorkeling, and even spend days living with the Mentaway tribe. Here is A Complete Travel Guide to Mentawai.
• Not sure how to get to the Mentawai Islands? Here is all the information you need from ferry schedules, costs, and more: How to Get to Mentawai: A Complete Guide
• Looking for a complete itinerary and travel guide for Indonesia? One Month Itinerary for Indonesia.
• Are you planning to travel to Indonesia as part of a big Southeast Asia trip? Check out our 3-month backpacking itinerary for Southeast Asia.
• If you are visiting Bali for the first time, here is a travel guide to get you started: 10 BEST Places To Visit In Bali.
• Jakarta is a massive city unlike any other, and there are quite a lot to do here if you know where to look. Here are the 8 Best Things To Do in Jakarta.
• Yogyakarta is a great cultural and historical place to visit in Indonesia, and there are plenty of things to see and do there. Here are the 9 Best Things To Do in Yogyakarta.
• Did you know that there is an island in Indonesia that is free of tourists? One of them is Karimunjawa, a true hidden gem island of Java. Here's a complete guide on how to travel to Karimunjawa island.
• Looking for an article that summarizes a trip through the Java island? Check out my photo essay of Java, Indonesia.
• Lombok is now gaining in popularity, but one of the best things you can do on the island is to trek Mount Rinjani, a volcano on a lake in another volcano on an island. Here's a complete guide on how to trek Mount Rinjani.
• Gili Trawangan is one of the most popular Gili islands in Lombok, and even though it's crowded, you can often find solitude if you know where to look. Plus, it's cheap. Here's an article about exploring Gili Trawangan.
• Komodo Island is one of the most unique experiences you can never experience anywhere. Here's a backpacking travel guide on how to explore the Komodo Islands (what to do, which cruise to pick and more).
• Want to visit Kelimutu lakes? Here's a complete travel guide on how to get to Kelimutu lakes in Flores.
• Flores is another great island that deserves way more credit than it receives. There's the Komodo islands, Kelimutu tri-colored lakes, and so much more. Here is a 10-day travel guide for Flores and Komodo Island.
• Watch a travel video I made about Bali, Lombok, and Flores here: Nusantara, a journey through Bali, Lombok, and Flores, Indonesia.
• Not convinced by my words about Indonesia and Southeast Asia? Check out my photographic journey through the subcontinent: 64 photos that will inspire you to visit Southeast Asia.
• Wondering where you want to go next? How about Timor Leste? Visit Timor Leste Travel Guide page for more information about traveling to Timor Leste.
• To see all articles about Indonesia, visit the Indonesia Travel Guide page.
• Looking for more travel guides for Southeast Asia? You can find more on my Southeast Asia Travel Guide page.
• For more of my travel guides, visit my Destinations page.