Sintang is situated on the border of Indonesia-Malaysia at the North border. The city is accessible by air and land from Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan Province. It takes about 9 hours drive from Pontianak to Sintang or 45 minutes by air. Sintang derives from Dayak langauage , ‘senentang’ means the meeting point of two rivers, Kapuas and Melawi River.

There was a kingdom here called as Sintang Kingdom which reigned approximately since the 13th Century. The kingdom is located about 50 km from the current city location where there is site of Lingga with the relief of Madewa and Nandi statue, and local call the statue as kalbut which means pig. Located not far from the site, there is Aju Melayu Grave, the ancestor of Kings of Sintang Kingdom. Demong Irawan moved the capital to SSenentang area, located between Kapuas and Melawi River . Senetang then became Sintang after years. Since the reign of Sri paduka Tuanku Sultan Nata Muhammad Syamsudin Sa’adul Khairi Waddin, the kingdom became Sultanate, until 1966 and then became part of Indonesia.

MOUNT KELAM (BUKIT KELAM) is located about 20 KM from Sintang City. It is one of the biggest monoliths in the world. The peak is 1002 meters and can be reached by 4-5 hours hike. This hill popular among botanists and researcher. There are species of Nepenthes or Pitcher plants and also black orchid.

BUKIT BAKA BUKIT RAYA NATIONAL PARK is situated between two province, West Kalimantana and Central Kalimantan. It takes 2 hours boat ride to Nanga Nuak and plus another 2 hours drive to the National Park. The National Park is the habitat for abundance of flora and fauna. There are species of mammals, birds, fish and butterlflies.

RUMAH BETANG ENSAID PANJANG is longhouse of Dayak Tribe which is still inhibited until today. The main pillar is made out of ironwood (Ulin). The house was initially built for one sub-clan for battle habit of Dayak tribe. The men work in farm and collect rubber while the women work on loom making weaving.

SINTANG TRADITIONAL FOOD is made of durian fruit. Durian is fermented naturally for 9-12 hours using salt.

NOKAN NAYAN WATERFALL is a 180 meters high waterfall. There are two waterfalls actually, Nokan Nayan and Jongonoi. Both are cararact types waterfalls. The access to the is long and challenging. From Sintang drive to Nanga Pinoh in Melawi region, proceed with speedboat ride for about 6 hours. Another speedboat ride through Jongonoi Riverto Ukai Village. From Ukai Hamlet and then walk about 1.5 hours to Nanga Menantak. From Nanga Menantak another 3 hours boat ride to Deme Hamlet. Proceed with small boat ride for 3 hours at Tolian Ponohak when river is in high tide. The waterfall can be reached by walking and hiking Tuhkat Pasang, a valley wall of Jongonoi River. There are some other waterfall in Sintang such as Nokan Tolangit, Sentarum Waterfall and more.

BANING FOREST is 213 hectares forest, and it is the only tropicalforest in Indonesia that is located in city area. There are pitcher plants, orchids , hard wood trees, red monkey and birds species here. This is the educational destination for students and researchers.

Well if you are visiting Yogyakarta and would like to get some beautiful documentation for your Instagram feeds, here are some recommended place for you.

KALIBIRU is located in Kulonprogo, about 1 hour drive from Yogyakarta International Airport. If your flight arrives morning or noon, you can visit this view point before heading to Yogyakarta city. The view is mesmerizing, green hilly landscape with water reservoir.

KEDUNG KAYANG VIEW POINT is a view point where you can capture Waterfall and Mount Merapi in one single photo shot. The picture is jaw dropping and dramatic. Best time to visit is in the morning when sky is clear and Mt Merapi is not covered by mist. However when there is some mist there, it is also more magical.

AGROWISATA BHUMI MERAPI is located on slope of Mt Merapi. The instagramable place here is some background of Santorini, Japan path, colorful alleys and beautiful murals. The entrance fees is inclusive all those photo area.

HEHA SKYVIEW is located about 1 hour drive from the city. This is the place where you can see Yogyakarta from above. The most interesting feature here is the glass bridge, that if you want to take photograph here , there is additional fee for IDR 30,000 and staff will take photo if you with their camera and you can save them for IDR 5000/photo.

HEHA OCEAN VIEW is located further about 2,5 hours from Yogyakarta city. There are some photo booth where you can take photo with ocean background for an extra fee.

GAMPLONG STUDIO ALAM is a movie studio for some Indonesian films. One of the most popular films shot here is Bumi Manusia. You can ride on train and also photo with the houses and all the buildings.

LOST WORLD CASTLE is has beautiful Mt Merapi as background and some European castles building perfect for photoshoot. This place is not fully finished yet (when we visit) , construction is still in progress.

Gunung Palung National Park is administratively located in Ketapang Regency and North Kayong regency of West Kalimantan Province. The National Park borders with Batu Barat River, Air Merah River and Matan River at the North. On the East it is directly borders with Teluk Bayur Village, Laur River and Sempurna Village. At the South borders with Melinsun River, Siduk River, Lekahan River, Gunung Tarak Forest, Riam Berasap Jaya Village, Pangalan Teluk Village, Laman Satong Village and Karimata Strait. At the West it is side by side with Karimata Strait and some villages. The highest peak in the National Park is Mt Palung, 1.116 meters.

The National Park has type A climate and the majority of the area are wet zone with rainnfall between 2730-4040 mm /year. There are some type of ecosystems here, from peat swap, fresh water swamp, lowland dipterocarp, mangrove forest, aluvial soil and sub montana ecosystem. And therefore, it has abundance of flora and fauna.

There are thousands of plants species here such as agathis, ironwood, pulai, ramin, jelutung, rengas mangroves and some herbs plants. Some hardwoods can be found here aremeranti, keruing, resak. Several orchid species also can be found here, such as the exotic black orchid which can be found along Matan River especially from February to April.

Faunas can be found here are : orangutan, monkeys and owa, tarsius, fresh water fishes, bekantan, and squirels. And there are many more wildlife in this national park.

Lubuk Baji Waterfall is located at Sedahan Jaya Village, Kayong Utara Regency. Lubuh Baji is the name of waterfall located located in hilly area. The waterfall can be reached from Sedahan Village which takes about 2 hours walk. While if accessed via Pangkalan Buton Village will take about 4 hours walk. Along the walk you will be passing green nature.

Riam Berasap Waterfall is located at the mouth of Siduk River. This waterfall is located in Kayong Utara. It takes 4 hours walk to reach the waterfall and enroute travelers can stop by at several waterfalls, such as Riam Bekinjil. Riam Ambar and Riam Karung.

Batu Barat Village is separated by big river that streams from Matan to Telok Melano. The access to Batu Barat is via Telok Melano, 20 km from Sukadana City. Along the river you can see wildlife and observe vegetations.

Bukit (Hill) Peramas is located in Sukadana City of Kayong Utara Regency. In this area travelers can observe flora and fauna.

Kayan Mentarang National Park is located at Kalimantan Island and it is located at the border of Indonesia-Malaysia. The National Park consists of primary forest of 1,35 million hectares  with various kind of forest inside. It is the home of flora and fauna and many of them are not identified yet.

The National Park was once a Nature Reserve and then in 1996, it was appointed as Kayan Mentarang National Park. The National Park is the biggest primary forest in South East Asia. The name of Kayan Mentarang was derived from two major rivers stream to the national park, Kayan River which streams at the South and Mentarang River which streams at the North. Other source mentions that the National Park name derives from  Apau Kayan highland that stretchs from Long Kayan at the South through Apau Ping in the middle and Long Bawan at the North.

There are types of forest in Kayang Mentarang: Dipterokarp Forest, Fagaceae-Myrtaceae Forest, middle to high mountain forest and also heath forest or kerangas forest. There are also swamp forest, secondary forest, agathis forest, moss forest in the height of more than 1500 m.

Some flora diversity can be found here are: ironwood, pulai, ramin, jelutung, sugar palm, rengas, agathis, and gaharu. The national park is also home of various plants habitat such as pitcher plants, and orchids.

Kayan Mentarang is rich of wildlife. It is the habitat of more than 100 mammals and 15 of them are endemic animals. There are 28 primates species, and more than 300 birds species. Honey bear, banteng, clouded leopard, and white fronted surili.

BATU ULUI : is the peak of rock mountain located at Long Jelet hamlet, at the mouth of Jelet River and Pujungan River. From the peak travelers can see the  rainforest landscape. The hiking will start at Long Pujungan and then crusing aong river for about 4 hours and then trek for about 2 hours through slopy and slippery slope.

U’UNG MELU’UNG WATERFALL is located at Long Pujungan. It is a 50 meters high waterfall. It takes about 30 minutes walk from River Pujungan. There is a salty spring located nearby the waterfall where wildlife can be spotted, if you are lucky.

ROCK GRAVEYARD is one of interesting site can be explored in Kayan Mentarang National Park. It is located at the estuary of two rivers : Pujungan and Bahau River. The graveyard was the heritage of Ngorek tribe, and the region has not been inhabited for more than 400 years ago.

LONG TOA SAVANNAH is the habitat of wild banteng. In here, travelers can also see deers and pigs. The animals usually can be spotted morning and late afternoon. There is a humble lodge in this savannah.

DAYAK CULTURE AND TRADITION is one of the main interest of travelers visiting the National Park. In certain days they have dance performance and also traditional celebrations. When visitors come, they also perform rituals. There are sub ethnic of Dayak Tribe in the surrounding of Kayang Mentarang National Park, such as: Kenyah Tribe, Kauan Tribe, Lundayeh Tribe, Tagel, Saben and Puanan, Bakung, Badeng, Makulit and Makasan that spread in 50 villages in the region.

Kayan Mentarang National Park can be accessed by flying 1 hour from Samarinda to Tarakan and then you will cruise by speedboat through Mentarang River for 6 hours or more, and it is subject to weather and river water level. Rivers to access the national park are  Bahau river, Kayan River or Mentarang River.

Borneo or Kalimantan Elephant is known as  small elephant, smaller in size than its kind. They have rounder body, long tail that it touches the ground , big ears and more straight ivory than the elephant species. Yet in Kalinatan Island, they are the biggest mammals.

According to local story, Kalimantan elephant was originally a domesticated elephant from Jawa in the 17th Century and then it was released to Kalimantan Island and they breed until today. According to WWF, the species were isolated for 300 thousand years from Asia elephant family. Their dna structure changed. And the assumption that it was descendant of Jawa elephant is not confirmed as Jawa elephants have been extinct long time ago.

The Borneo Pygmy elephant can grow 2-3 meters and can only weight about 3-5 tons only unlike other species. The elephant can  run 43 km  per hour and they can swim through rivers easily. Their life span range from 55 to 77 years old.

The Floating Market is the icon of Banjarmasin city. It was established in the 18th Century when Banjar Sultanate reigned. It was situated at Kuin River which flows to Barito River, largest river at the South Kalimantan. Kuin River Floating market still exist today.

Rivers are indeed an important part of Banjar people. They have been used as transportation lanes and also site of trading. The houses, mosques, warung (food stall) are built along the edge of river. Land lanes are not used maximum as the area are peat and swamp areas. And yet, as more rapid development of construction, roads, and minimarts, Kuin Floating Market is not as vibrant as long time ago, there are less transaction on the river and the market only open from dawn to seven in the morning.

The famous floating market now is Lok Baintan Floating Market, where visitors can experience groceries shopping on water. The market was also established during Banjar Sultanate. The river is located at Martapura River and can be reached about 30 minutes by klotok boat from the city of Banjarmasin. Lok Baintan Floating Market starts from 6 to 8 AM, therefore visitors must depart at 5 am from Banjarmasin city. Along the boat trip we can see activities of the locals such as locals bathe and wash clothes.

There are various daily commodities to be traded in Lok Baintan floating market, such as vegetables, fruits, cooking oil, eggs, chicken, fish, sugar and etc. In the past they bartered goods.

Sebangau National Park is one of National Parks in Kalimantan Island, administratively, the National Park is located in Katingan, Pulau Pisang and Palangkaraya region. It was officially appointed as National Park in 2004.

The National park is located in the midst of peat swamp forest and it becomes one of the main attraction of the National Park. The National Park has pristine nature. Bukit Batu is one of place you can visit, and this view point overlooking at Sebangau National Park for vast wide jungle landscape. At Bukit Bulan (Moon Hill), travelers can hike to the peal to see swamp forest and granite rocks at the foot of the hill.

Sebangau National Park is where rivers stream and as well where crystal clear fresh water lakes can be found. The locals call the lakes as Lake Bulat, Lake Panjang and Lake Panggualas. Those lakes are rich of fresh water life. The rivers streams through the National Park : Sebangau River and Katingan River, Kahyangan River and Koran River that is knows as black river.

Main attraction at Sebangau National ParK :

RESORT MANGKOK : Is located at Pulau Pisang area, and its main attraction is peat swamp rehabilitation by building canal blocking. The canal blocking was built to wet the region during dry season. Visitors can do birding or as well wildlife observation in the resort.

PANGGUALAS is located in Baun Bango region of Katingan Regency. This place has boat and guesthouse for visitors and wildlife can be observed here are orangutan, bekantan and owa.

KORAN RIVER is where visitor can experience trekking in the forest and also observe wildlife such as orangutan, phytons and also other wildlife. Koran river has black water as it contains tannin that is produced by peat swamp. The river base is peat swamp and the tannin mixed with the water for million years. The water tastes a bit bitter. Here visitors can hire motor boat or kelotok at Kereng Bangkirai harbor to cruise the river.

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The Sebangau National Park situated in Central Kalimantan and it is one of the last remaining peat swamp forests in Borneo. The forest is the home of thousands of orangutans, the largest population of wild orangutan in the wild, and there are 13 endangered species in the National Park. The forest is also rich of plants species.

The National Park is available for trekking activities which is available Bukit Bulan (Moon Hill). Visitors can see the swamp ecosystem and granit rocks which can be observed at Bukit Kaki (Foot Hill). Because of the dry area at granite rocks, the vegetations here are unlike the surrounding.

Sebangau National Park is also the home of fish which live in crystal clear lakes. There are several Lakes in the National Parks : Lake Bulat, Lake Pungguannas, Lake Jalan Pangen and Lake Panjang.

If you love bird watching, Central Kalimantan is also the habitat of various birds species.

Exploring Koran River in the national park can be a challenging and learning experience about tropical forest. The river is black as it contains tannin from the peatland that mixes with river water. The depth of the river ranges from 1-17 meters.

This region is located not far from Semarang, the capital of Central Java. Locals know the region as the birthplace of RA Kartini, the pioneer of woman emancipation.
According to word of mouth, the wood carving community has been existed since Kalinyamat Kingdom era in the 16th Century. Carver made wood carving products to supply the palace. After the era of Kalinyamat Kingdom, the carving declined. And in the period of RA Kartini, in the end of 19th Century, when Kartini promoted the craft products to locals and her friends abroad.
Locals made statues, carved furniture, doors decoration and other home decorations. The carver also update their works to more modern decoration that makes their products loved by younger generation.
Now Jepara has exported furniture products to more than 100 countries. Buyers can find huge selections of crafts, furniture with various style. Not only from woods, Jepara also produces furniture from other materials, such as seagrass, rattan, and water hyacinth.
Buyers can order furniture as per their preferences for their homes, hotels or stores.
If you are looking to visit Jepara, for business trip and leisure, please feel free to contact us.

Wonosobo is one of my favorite place to visit and enjoy mountain area. It is known for Dieng Plateau for its nature beauty consists of craters, volcanic lake and Hindu temple complex from the 9th Century. It has some mountains as well that is popular among hikers, especially for Mt Sindoro, Mt Sumbing and Mt Prau.
I took one day with my family visiting some off the beaten path of Wonosobo. We did it in slow pace in the sunny day during the rainy season.

NATURAL POOL
The place is a little bit hard to find. The road to the village is narrow and some steep, and recommended for MPV vehicle only, not for bigger vehicle. The pool can be reached by walking about 10 minutes only from where our car park.
The pool is crystal clear with school of fish swimming around. It is definitely swimmable. And if you love taking pictures, it is also instagrammable place. The farms located nearby the pool must be amazing when rice paddies grow.
I met a little girl with natural dreadlock hair which locals called as gembel hair. His father says she has not has request for anything, so a ritual to cut her hair has not been held yet.

There is no sign we can find. It is not well developed, that i really like. And from 10 am there is warung where visitors can buy drink and come snacks.

LAKE MENJER
This lake is beautifully mystical for me. It is so big and uses to generate electricity. Boating around the lake with motor bamboo raft is what i like to do here. Even when there are mists around, boating is enticing. It is like sailing through the serenity.

KAHYANGAN SKYLINE
It is actually a view point above Lake Menjer where visitors can enjoy lake view in a more comfier ambiance and as well enjoying meals. It is good for day out with family and friends.

SIKARIM WATERFALL
Located some about 30 minutes drive from Dieng Plateau, this waterfall is worth a stop. Waterfall is ribbon type waterfall that slide along rock. Best time to visit is during

Contributor : Lindy S

To visit off beaten path places of Wonosobo or Dieng Plateau please contact us at javagetaway@gmail.com