- Destination
- Papua & West Papua
Papua & West Papua
Overview
Indonesia’s far east sits on the western half of the island of New Guinea and is commonly referred to in travel as “Papua” (the broader region). Administratively today it’s split into multiple provinces; one of them is West Papua, which covers the Bird’s Head (Vogelkop) area plus offshore islands including Raja Ampat.
The highlands area is a separate province (commonly called Highland Papua) with the capital Wamena in the Baliem Valley, one of the best-known inland visitor areas.
The highlands area is a separate province (commonly called Highland Papua) with the capital Wamena in the Baliem Valley, one of the best-known inland visitor areas.
What Papua & West Papua is best for
- Raja Ampat (in Southwest Papua) is Indonesia’s headline marine destination: a huge archipelago (1,500+ islands/cays) famous for reefs and dramatic limestone-island scenery.
- Papua offers big wilderness mountains, rainforest, and protected areas often aimed at adventurous travellers rather than quick resort trips. (Example highlight: Lorentz National Park area in the Papua region is widely noted for extreme mountain to lowland ecosystems.)
- The Baliem Valley (around Wamena) is best known for highland scenery and living often the starting point for treks and cultural visits.