Main City: Jayapura, Wamena, Biak, Sorong, Timika

JAYAPURA
Jayapura is the capital and the biggest city of this easternmost province. It is a neat and pleasant city, built on the slope of a hill overlooking the bay. There are some places that you can visit around the city. The Irian Jaya Museum, offers exhibits on a great variety of traditional equipements, historical and archeological relics, art artifacts and artists' tools, ceramics and pottery, as well as a collection of books in the museum's library.Abepura (between Jayapura and Sentani), is the best place for ethnographic pieces and Asmat arts from Rockefeller Foundation.

A short trip from Jayapura, Lake Sentani is one of the biggest lakes and still virtually untouched by tourism. The people who call the shores of this magnificent lake home still live in a traditional manner, and are renowned for their woodworking and pottery. You can cross to the Apayo island, where the local people make bark paintings. The crocodile farm is also a popular destination for tourists Irian Jaya souvenirs are sold in the Hamadi market.

WAMENA
Wamena is the regency's capital of Baliem , it is 45 minutes flight from Jayapura and it is the only town in the valley. In this small town , you'll view extraordinary mixture of culture and customes - of Dani tribesmen, Minangs, Javanese, Ambonese. Wamena's market, bustling with farmers selling produce, it the town's premier attraction. There are statues of Dani warriors here, penis gourds pointing proudly upward. This town is a Dani's handicrafts marketing center. Restaurant here are run by Javanese and Sumatrans.

Wamena is surrounded by native villages of the Dani. Nearest villages may be reached on foot are Wauma, Sinatma, where the rope hanging bridge is and Wesaput. More interesting villages, away from Wamena, are Aikima, Suroba amd Jiwika.These villages may all be visited in one day. At Sopahima, Jiwika neighborhood a preserved 250 years old mummy can be seen.

SORONG
Sorong is a big Pertamina oil and timber base, it lies at the western tip of the Bird's Head. Doom Island, just 20 minutes away across the Sorong Harbour is a nice place to visit. There's a trail aound it, an hour's walk through villages and a graveyard. Explore Pulau Salawati, one of the closest island, is home to the bird of paradise and the giant sea turtle in Sausapor.Place of Interest in Sorong.

BIAK
Biak is also known as "city of coral". Biak was once the hoem base for both Japanese and Allied Force during WW II. Beside .There are over 40 islands around Biak, offering the beauty of sea garden, the most well known are the Padaido and Insubabi Islands There are some good beaches on this Island, the most popular of which are Bosnik on the east coast, about 26 km from the town which is good for swimming and skydiving. It is popular with its beautiful white-sand beach with palm rees from here you can see the 17 islands of the Owi group to the southeast. Near Bosnik is a bird park featuring birds from Irian Jaya, including the bird of paradise.

On the north coast,40 km from Biak, the Bay of Korim is surrounded by rocks and jungle, where one can watch young men dive for pearls. Near Korim visit the Goa Nippon (Javanese cave), where human skeleton are displayed. Supiori Island, just north of Biak, has a wilderness reserve and traditional villages where visitors are welcome.

TIMIKA
Located on the south coast of Irian Jaya between the Baliem Valley in the north east and the Asmat region in the south east, the town of Timika was initially built to support the mining operations of PT Freeport Indonesia.

Timika is serviced by an international airport just five kilometers from the town which caters to commercial and private air traffic. There are regular flightsto and from Jayapura on the north coast, Denpasar - Bali and from Makassar in Sulawesi, connecting to Jakarta. Please note that all visitors must have a valid travel document (surat jalan) for travel in Irian Jaya.

The lowland area from Timika to the coast is inhabited by the Kamoro Tribe. Famous for their wood carvings and dance, the culture of the Komoro is kept alive in the Kamoro Cultural Center where visitor can see at first hand the sills required to create their highly original works of art.

The additional attraction of one of the most spectacularly located course in the world - a Par 72, 18 hole championship golf course, designed by Coore & Crenshaw, make Timika a rare combination, an adventure destination with world class facilities.

The people who live in Timika come from all over Indonesia and offer a lively selection of food, goods, languages, and culture. A visit to the local Komoro Art Center to see the making of local handicrafts and woodcarving, river canoeing, jungle walks, bird watching, and fishing trips can be arranged .

For further information about Baliem Valley and Irian Jaya Travel Packages please contact: