Indonesia beyond Bali: 7 places off the tourist trail

Bali’s beautiful beaches and shimmering rice paddies have made it a justifiably famous tourist destination – but there’s so much more of Indonesia waiting to be explored.

As the world’s largest archipelago, with 17,000 islands, Indonesia offers everything from ancient ruins and world-class diving to extraordinary wildlife — including the critically endangered orangutan and the legendary Komodo dragon.

If your trip planning to Indonesia includes adventure, we’ve rounded up seven incredible experiences you won’t want to miss.

For unspoilt wilderness: Sumatra

Sumatra is wild, raw, and disappearing fast. It’s a naturalist’s dream — and a sobering one. Home to species found nowhere else, the island offers one of the last chances to glimpse creatures like the Sumatran tiger, whose numbers are dwindling fast. Your best (and still slim) shot? Kerinci Seblat National Park — one of the best places to visit in Indonesia if you’re chasing rare wildlife over comfort.

Also clinging to survival: the Sumatran elephant, rhinoceros, and the infamous Rafflesia arnoldii, the world’s largest flower, better known as the corpse flower for its unforgettable stench.

For jungle adventures: Kalimantan

Kalimantan, the Indonesian lion’s share of the huge island of Borneo, promises wild adventure like nowhere else in Southeast Asia. Borneo is the only home of the critically endangered Bornean orangutan, and Tanjung Puting National Park offers unrivalled opportunities to see these "people of the forest" up close.

You’ll take a cruise on a traditional klotok riverboat, an impossibly romantic way to make your way through the jungle, stopping off at feeding stations and viewing platforms. While the orangutans are the stars here, they’re joined by an impressive supporting cast of clouded leopards, long-snouted gharial crocodiles and gibbons.

For a tropical paradise: the Togian Islands

Of Indonesia’s thousands of islands, few are as beautiful as the Togians, 56 perfect dots of rock, beach and jungle rising from the Gulf of Tomini in central Sulawesi. It’s not easy to get there – a good three days on buses and ferries from Tana Toraja – but determined travellers will get their reward.

The diving is first-class, with a sociable scene on the island of Kadidiri, and the snorkelling’s pretty spectacular too. At Jellyfish Lake, you can enjoy the therapeutic, if counter-intuitive, experience of swimming with thousands of non-stinging jellies, while the volcanic island of Una-Una makes for a picturesque day trip.

Discover more attractive island destinations in Indonesia with our guide to unforgettable Indonesian islands to visit.

For world-beating diving: Raja Ampat

Indonesia has no shortage of world-class dive sites, and the likes of Crystal Bay and Tulamben are a big draw for many visitors to Bali. The best of all, though, lie way off the beaten track: the islands of Raja Ampat, off the coast of Papua.

With pristine coral reefs home to thousands of fish species, this is the most biodiverse marine environment in the world, and you’ll spot kaleidoscopic nudibranchs, huge manta rays and "walking" epaulette sharks, among many others. It’s still largely free of the crowds, but tourists are very well catered for, with plenty of dive resorts and liveaboards.

For ancient ruins: Java

Most tourists make only a passing visit to Java, the most populous island on the planet, in the form of a stopover in the polluted smog-bowl that is the capital, Jakarta. However, further to the east lie some truly remarkable ancient treasures.

Chief among them is Borobudur, the largest Buddhist monument in the world, which was covered by thick jungle until the nineteenth century – it’s 1200 years old, but it looks brand new. A similarly remarkable Hindu temple complex, Prambanan, lies nearby.

Rough Guides tip: From beaches to mountains, discover the best of Indonesia in 14 days with our itineraries.

For meeting dragons: Komodo National Park

Few creatures exert such a grip on the Western imagination as the fabled Komodo dragon. The world’s largest lizard has been the subject of many myths since Dutch colonisers sent tales of "land crocodiles" back to Europe in the early twentieth century.

Up to 3m long and 80kg in weight, their toxic bite can fell prey as large as water buffalo, with the dragons stalking their victims for weeks as they slowly die. They live only on a small group of islands off Flores, easily reachable from the charming port town of Labuanbajo.

For animist culture: Tanah Toraja

The spectacular highlands of South Sulawesi are a picture of serenity: water buffalo graze and goldfish bob in tumbling rice paddies, overlooking colourful villages with soaring horn-shaped roofs. It’s somewhat surprising, then, to learn that this is a land obsessed with death.

Most Torajans are nominally Christians, but their long-held animist traditions abide, centred around elaborate funeral rites in which hundreds of pigs and buffalo are sacrificed over several days. Foreign visitors can attend these ceremonies that, though graphic, are a vital part of Torajan tradition.

Explore more exciting attractions Indonesia has to offer with our guide to the best things to do in Indonesia.

Top image: Buddist temple Borobudur, Yogyakarta, Indonesia © Pambudi Yoga Perdana/Shutterstock