Putri Ayu Audina: Tourism in Papua

Papua or also known as Irian Jaya or Jayapura is the easternmost province of Indonesia. In addition to its unique traditions, Papua has many interesting sights that may be hard to find in other parts of Indonesia, such as Raja Ampat, Jayawijaya Mountain, and Lorentz National Park.

Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat is a group of islands located in West Irian Jaya. The four largest islands in Raja Ampat are Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati and Misool. Raja Ampat means "Four Kings", the name chosen by a large number of islands in the region. This place is a paradise under the sea and called the King of Coral Reefs. The degree isn't given randomly, because Raja Ampat does have 75% of the types of coral reefs around the world. In addition, Raja Ampat is also has the rich underwater fauna species such as sea horses, sharks carpet, and manta rays. For the tourists who like diving, visiting this place is a must if you really want to get an amazing diving experience.

The scenery of Raja Ampat from under the sea :

Sentani Lake

Lake Sentani isn’t as famous as Raja Ampat, but this natural attractions offers a beautiful view of the lake which exists between the Cyclops Mountains, about 70-90 m above sea level. This lake is the largest lake in Papua. The extent of 9360 hectares with a depth of 24.5 m. The water in the lake is sourced from 14 rivers with a waterfall named Jaifuri Puay. In the west, the depth of Old Doyo and Boroway is very steep, whereas in the west and center of the lake, the depth of Puay and Simporo is shallow. In Simporo Yoka also has forest and swamp.

The scenery in Sentani Lake is very incredible. some storks and eagles which want to grab a fish at Sentani Lake still can be shown. We can use Johnson's boat to circumnavigate the lake. Unfortunately, Sentani Lake is less well known as one of the attractions tourist destination compared to the other marine tourism place in Indonesia. Therefore, the government makes an event which called as the 'Sentani Lake Festival'.

Jaya Wijaya Mountain

Jaya Wijaya mountain range located in the central part of Papua, precisely in the area Jaya Wijaya. The highest peak among others Puncak Trikora, Jaya, Yamin and Mandala. Dani, Yali, Ndunga and Ngalum inhabit this region. Jaya Wijaya is located at an altitude of 5.500 meters above sea level is the highest peak in Papua bahakan in Indonesia. At the peak can be found in the snow. To achieve this peak takes about 10 and 20 days. Castensz peak located on the north wall of this mountain, while below it is the New Zealand Pass, climbing the most dangerous areas and greatly feared the climbers.

Jaya Wijaya Mountains is the name for the mountain range that extends lengthwise in the center of the province of West Papua and Papua (Indonesia) to Papua New Guinea Newguinea on. Rows of Mountains which have some of the highest peak in Indonesia was formed by the removal of the sea floor thousands of years ago. Although located at an altitude of 4800 masl, fossilized sea shells, for example, can be seen in limestone and clastic rocks contained in Jayawijaya Mountains. Jayawijaya Mountains are also the only one in Indonesia which has a peak covered with eternal snow. Although not all of the peak of the cluster Jayawijaya Mountains which has snow. Snow is owned by several peaks even at this time is lost due to weather changes globally.

Lorentz National Park

Lorentz National Park was a national park that was located in the province of Papua/Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Lorentz National Park had the most complete ecosystem for the biological diversity in South-East Asia and the Pacific. With the width that reached 25,000 km², Lorentz National Park became the biggest national park in South-East Asia. Apart from having the complete biological diversity, Lorentz National Park had the uniqueness with the existence of the glacier in Jayawijaya Peak and the river that disappeared several kilometers into the land in the Balliem Valley. Lorentz National Park becomes one of the three regions in the world that had the glacier in the tropical area. Stretched from the peak of the Jayawijaya Mountain that was covered snow as far as waters of the coastal coast with the limit of Arafura Sea. Lorentz National Park had the Montana Ecology, Sub-Montana, Vegetation Alpin, Sub-Alpin, the wetland and the plain. UNESCO maintained the Lorentz National Park as the site of the “World Nature Inheritance”

This national park had the high biological diversity and was the protection region that was most effective in the world because of its characteristics that were unique and beauty of its nature that enchanted. Moreover, Lorentz National Park had the diversity of the astonishing culture and was the ethnic group’s residence place of Asmat, Amungme, Dani Barat/West Dani and several other ethnic groups. The Asmat ethnic group was identical to the forest or the tree because of skills in carving his statue that has been famous. According to the Ethnic Group’s Asmat belief, the tree trunk symbolized the human body, the branches symbolized human arms, and the fruit symbolized the head of humankind. The Asmat ethnic group also believed that the tree was the place of the life of their ancestors’s souls. Apart from the forest or the tree, this belief was valid also for the river and the mountain.

Irian Jaya People and Way of Life

The indigenous people of this province are Melanesians with black skins and curly hair. They generally have a root crop subsistence agriculture based on sweet potatoes and taros. The people of Irian Jaya obtain their starch from the sago palm which gives and extremely generous yield for remarkably little effort. Feral and domesticated pigs on the island is originally came from Southeast Asia was an event which has had vast cultural and ritual significance for its people. Pigs are often treated as members of the family and are sometimes suckled by women. While many other people of the world were still hunters and gatherers, Papua people had begun to garden. After fairly recently, many of them lived with a simple Stone Age Culture wearing little clothing and decorating their bodies with paintings, shells, pig tusks, feathers and skins. There is a plethora of language in the province, perhaps some 250 in all, each representing a tribal group which mixes little with the others. Some of the more remote groups still have virtually no contact with the outside world.

Traditional House of Papua