Beautiful banners are coming to every article and you can help!
Check out our guidelines and learn how to create your own!

Difference between revisions of "Nusa Tenggara"

From Wikitravel
Earth : Asia : Southeast Asia : Indonesia : Nusa Tenggara
Jump to: navigation, search
(Stay safe: More on dragons)
Line 84: Line 84:
 
Nusa Tenggara is one of the least developed and least visited parts of Indonesia.  While the islands of [[Lombok]] and [[Sumbawa]] are solidly Muslim, the vast majority (90%) of the rest is Christian, with a smattering of animist belief.  Partly thanks to this clean division, Nusa Tenggara has been largely spared the religious conflicts of nearby [[Sulawesi]] and [[Maluku]].
 
Nusa Tenggara is one of the least developed and least visited parts of Indonesia.  While the islands of [[Lombok]] and [[Sumbawa]] are solidly Muslim, the vast majority (90%) of the rest is Christian, with a smattering of animist belief.  Partly thanks to this clean division, Nusa Tenggara has been largely spared the religious conflicts of nearby [[Sulawesi]] and [[Maluku]].
  
[[Image:Komodo_Dragon_leaping.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Komodo Dragons in the Komodo NP]]
+
[[Image:Komodo_Dragon_leaping.jpg|thumb|right|350px|''...there be dragons..'']]
  
 
==Talk==
 
==Talk==

Revision as of 13:41, 31 July 2011

The remarkably coloured lakes at Mount Kelimutu, Flores

Nusa Tenggara ("Southeast Islands"), also known as the Lesser Sunda Islands, is a region of eastern Indonesia.

Formerly little more than afterthought for most Bali-bound travelers, this region is now attracting more and more visitors, with Komodo National Park and Lombok leading the way.

Contents

Regions

Map of Nusa Tenggara with regions colour-coded

Nusa Tenggarra is administratively divided into two provinces:

  • West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat)
Lombok
for those seeking a peaceful tropical island, it has a much quieter pace than nearby Bali, and is the gateway to eastern Indonesia
Sumbawa
largely undiscovered except by a few intrepid surfers and trekkers
  • East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur)


Flores
Komodo National Park, the mysterious three-colored lakes of Kelimutu, and fantastic diving
Solor Archipelago
little visited islands between Flores and Alor
Alor Archipelago
world-class diving and fishing against a backdrop of steaming volcanoes
West Timor
administrative capital of the region
Sawu Islands
remote, seldom-visited island group between Sumba and Timor
Sumba
rugged, remote and peculiarly beautiful

While Bali is geographically a part of the archipelago, it is covered in a separate article.

Cities

  • Ende — lazy main city in Flores
  • Kupang — the capital of East Nusa Tenggara, in the western half of Timor
  • Labuanbajo — launching point from Flores to Komodo Island, diving and snorkeling
  • Mataram — the capital of West Nusa Tenggara, in Lombok
  • Maumere — the main transport hub in Flores
  • Senggigi — the main tourist town in Lombok
  • Sumbawa Besar — the largest city in Sumbawa

Other destinations

  • Alor Archipelago — very off-the-beaten-track island group with superb diving and fishing, and smoking volcanoes
  • Gili Islands — three gorgeous tiny islands perched off Lombok, formerly a backpacker mecca and now fast going up-market
  • Komodo National Park — home of the Komodo dragon, a very rich marine fauna, magnificent remote landscapes and much more
  • Moyo — national marine park with superb diving and home to a remarkable Aman resort

Understand

Nusa Tenggara is one of the least developed and least visited parts of Indonesia. While the islands of Lombok and Sumbawa are solidly Muslim, the vast majority (90%) of the rest is Christian, with a smattering of animist belief. Partly thanks to this clean division, Nusa Tenggara has been largely spared the religious conflicts of nearby Sulawesi and Maluku.

...there be dragons..

Talk

Bahasa Indonesia is spoken throughout the region, along with a host of regional languages. English is understood in some of the larger towns and cities, in particular those with significant tourist infrastructure. Outside of those places, do not expect English to be either spoken or understood.

Get in

Being a vast archipelago, the main means of transport are by plane and by ship.

By plane

The main airports, with frequent flights from the Javanese mainland and Denpasar (Bali), are Mataram (Lombok), Maumere (Flores) and Kupang (West Timor). A few flights a week also go from Denpasar, Bali to both Waingapu, Sumba (eastern part of the island) and Waikabubak (western part, near where the Pasolas are held annually).

The only direct international connection from anywhere outside Indonesia directly to the islands is on SilkAir from Singapore a few times a week to Mataram. That will change when the hugely delayed new Lombok airport finally opens.

By boat

There are frequent ferry services from Bali to Lombok. Connections between Nusa Tenggara and Indonesia's other islands, though, are limited to the occasional PELNI ferry sailing between Makassar (South Sulawesi) to Flores and, if you really want to get away from it all, from various ports in Papua via Tual and Saumlaki, Maluku to Kalabahi, Alor and onward to Flores.

Get around

By plane

The major regional carrier is Merpati Nusantara Airlines [1]. TranNusa Air Services [2] offers a number of short distance inter-island flights.

By bus and ferry

From Bali in the west to Timor in the east, the classic island-hopping backpacker trail across Nusa Tenggara runs something like this:

Popular detours include visiting the 3 Gili Islands lying a few km of the western coast of Lombok and Komodo north of Flores. Less popular options include going via Sumba instead of Flores.

A night time ferry also runs, sometimes, from Waingapu, Sumba to Ende, Flores, taking about 11 hours.

See

  • Komodo dragon. The Komodo dragon, which lives in Rinca and Flores as well as Komodo islands, is the largest lizard in the world. Tours of are available where dragons can be seen in the wild. Tourists must be accompanied by park rangers who use forked wooden sticks to fend off any approaching dragons, and provide information about the islands and wildlife. The practice of feeding dragons stopped in 1992.

Itineraries

Do

  • Pasolas, festivals with ritual battles between warriors, in western Sumba in February or March.
  • Swimming in the Flores Sea between Sumbawa and Flores, en route to or from one of the islands in Komodo National Park.

Eat

Drink

Jus pokat (avocado juice), often including a swirl of chocolate, is generally very good.

Stay safe

Komodo Dragons, at up to 3 m (10 ft) in length, are more than capable of killing a man with ease, although human predation is rare. Zoologists formerly believed that the main problem was the dragon's diseased-filled bite from the rampant bacteria residing in their mouth. More recently theories have been put forward that the Komodo Dragon is actually venomous, and that the biggest problem when bitten is shock and massive blood loss due to the ferocity of the bite. Whichever, getting bitten is not a good thing.

The dragon usually bites a larger animal and then waits for the infection to kill it. So, despite the fact that being actually eaten is unlikely, the bite itself can be deadly. Keep at a considerable distance and never enter dragon territory alone. If you use basic common sense you should have a wonderful time viewing these magnificent animals. The absence of crocodiles on Komodo Island (due in part to a lack of suitable habitat) leave the Komodo Dragons with no natural predators.

Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) also reside in most of this area, however they are not found on Komodo. The saltwater crocodile is the largest of all living crocodilians and the average size for an adult male is 5.2 m (17 ft) (although the largest saltwater crocodile on record was 8.8 m (29 ft) in length, from northern Queensland). They are known throughout their range as man-eaters and account for many human deaths every year. This can all be avoided by using basic common sense. Never swim in the ocean near a river mouth, in swamps or in large rivers. Never clean fish near the water or frequent the same spot at a river over a prolonged period of time, saltwater crocodiles are known to memorise a potential prey item's patterns for days or weeks at a time before attacking.

This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!



Variants

Actions

Destination Docents

In other languages
{"cc_re__cc_re__cc_by_sa_3_0": ["</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-places-disclaimer\"><a href=\"/en/Wikitravel:Terms_of_use\" title=\"Wikitravel:Terms of use\">Terms of use</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-places-mobileview\"><a href=\"http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Nusa_Tenggara&amp;diff=1724756&amp;oldid=1724754&amp;mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile\" class=\"noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle\">Mobile view</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t</ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul id=\"footer-icons\" class=\"noprint\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-copyrightico\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\"><img src=\"http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights.png\" alt=\"Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0\" width=\"88\" height=\"31\" /></a>\n\t\t\t\t\t</li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-poweredbyico\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"//www.mediawiki.org/\"><img src=\"http://files.wikitravel.org/mw/skins/common/images/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png\" alt=\"Powered by MediaWiki\" width=\"88\" height=\"31\" /></a>\n\t\t\t\t\t</li>\n\t\t\t\t</ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"clear:both\"></div>\n\t\t</div>\n<SCRIPT TYPE=\"text/javascript\" SRC=\"http://loadus.exel"], "copyright__copyright__copyright": ["", "he ocean near a river mouth, in swamps or in large rivers. Never clean fish near the water or frequent the same spot at a river over a prolonged period of time, saltwater crocodiles are known to memorise a potential prey item's patterns for days or weeks at a time before attacking.\n\nThis article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!\n\n\n\nVariants\n\nActions\n\nDestination Docents\n\nIn other languages", "he ocean near a river mouth, in swamps or in large rivers. Never clean fish near the water or frequent the same spot at a river over a prolonged period of time, saltwater crocodiles are known to memorise a potential prey item's patterns for days or weeks at a time before attacking.\n\nThis article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!\n\n\n\nVariants\n\nActions\n\nDestination Docents\n\nIn other languages"]}