Last updated: 2011-04-20

Itinerary

Day 1

Meeting in Denpasar at our hotel where you will meet your tour leader in the evening. Life in Bali has very strong influences from Hinduism. In Bali, hundreds of Gods are being worshiped. Sometimes Bali is called the Island of God Everywhere, in almost every courtyard, you will find large or small temples where people pay tributes several times a day. If you wish to visit a temple you must remember to wear a sarong and a strap around your waist according to Balinese custom.The tradition of handicraft is strong in Bali, like in the rest of Indonesia. Thanks to tourism, handicraft has become an opportunity for exports. Products from different places in Indonesia can be found in the shops of Bali. Departure for airport just before midnight.

Day 2

Early morning arrival in Jayapura, on the island of New Guinea in West Papua, which is the name of the western, Indonesian part, of the large island. Your hotel is situated near the airport in Sentani.
Papua is almost the size of Sweden. The population is about 2,5 million people. Most of the island is covered by rain forests, mountains or swamps and it is not very densely populated. Out of the 2,5 million inhabitants, only 50% are of Papuan ethnic origin. The rest are Indonesians, who have moved to New Guinea from other islands. Since the 1960'ies when Indonesia took over the rule, Bahasa Indonesia is the official language and the language used for communication between people from different parts of Papua. Different ethnic groups in the island have all their own local language. People who have been to school all speak Bahasa Indonesia since that is the medium of instruction in school. Almost 100% of the Papuans are Christian, Protestant or Catholic. You will see many churches of all kinds and shapes. Ever since the first missionaries arrived in the island 150 years ago, they have spread the word to every village around Papua. There is no village where there has never been a missionary. The Indonesian part of the population is mainly Muslim and you will see mosques in towns where the Indonesians live.

Your tourleader will get you the necessary special permit for visiting various parts in Papua, Surat Jalan.

Day 3-8

This day you take car/bus westwards for 6-8 hours to the village Beneraf. The first night will you sleep in community house in the village. I the village lives around 250 families. Count on that the villagers will give you a warm welcome to the village. The village is situated by the sea so you will have good opportunities to swim.
In the morning the second day in the village you take of for the djungle trekk. At first you go with a lorry for one hour and then you walk for 5-7 hours to the place where you build the camp-site with help from villagers from Beneraf.
During the days in the djungle will you use the same camping site and make excursions in the surroundings. You have brought along basic supply, rice, salt, sugar and coffe. The rest of the food will come from what the hunters hunt in the forrest, fish in the streams and vegetables will you look for and gather in the surroundings.
During these days will you see a lot of animals, especially birds. I can promise you that you will see at least one bird of paradise.
After three nights in the djungle you return to Beneraf village where you sleep in the same house as when you arrived.
Last day in the villge you have plenty of time to take active part in daily life in the village. If you want to give them a hand with someting practical, just take it easy and swim, play football or teach children and adults how to play "kubb". All this is up to you.

Day 9

In the morning you say goodbye to the villagers and the bus/car will take you back to Sentani.

Day10

Flight to Wamena which takes less than an hour. After arrival in Wamena it is necessary to get a stamp in your surat jalan. The airport is located right in the city centre and you just walk across the street to your hotel. The town of Wamena is quite small and you can reach all places on foot. In case not, you may also take a becak (cycle-taxi). Wamena is the central town in the Baliem Valley, situated at an altitude of 1660 m above sea level surrounded by peaks of 2500-3000 meters. The valley stretches 60 kilometres from north-west to south-east with a width of about 15 kilometres. The Baliem Valley is cut off from the outside world; the only way accessible is by air. All merchandise, cars, petrol, rice etc that exist in Wamena have been transported by airfreight. That is why many things are more expensive here than in other parts of Indonesia. A road from Jayapura to Wamena has been constructed. Frequent landslides destroy the road and it cost too much to have it repaired. Within the valley, there are paved roads stretching to the south, north and north-west out of Wamena. The Baliem Valley was "discovered" in 1938 by American Richard Archibald who flew across the central highlands and saw that there was a large inhabited and cultivated valley that was not known about earlier. The Baliem is the most well known and most frequently visited area in Papua. There are about 1000 tourists coming in every year. There are several different ethnic groups living in the highlands. Except from Wamena town, where many Indonesians live, the valley is mainly populated by the Dani people. The Dani tribe is known for its unusual way not to wear clothes. Traditionally, men are completely naked except from wearing koteka - a penis cover made of the calabash fruit. Women traditionally wear a skirt made of grass. Nowadays, the majority of Dani people wear clothes. In villages, you will still meet a few people wearing the koteka. In Dani society, pigs are the most important and valuable possession. The number of pigs sets your status in the village, economically and socially. Pigs are still the common means of payment for a wife or for a piece of land. Villages are always surrounded by a fence or a wall - to keep the pigs under control - and also keep strangers out.

Day 11-14

During the next five days you will go trekking in the Baliem valley. The landscape will vary between open fields, mountain slopes and forest. It is hilly. Sometimes very steep indeed! The trek will mainly be along small trails. Since it often rains at night, the trails may be slippery. Sometimes, you might have to cross streams or small rivers on foot, sometimes there will be a hanging bridge.

The facilities during the trek will be very basic. You will stay in the local people's houses or maybe in the local church or school. You will be offered only the floor as your bed. So you will need a mattress and a sleeping bag or a quilt. You carry your own rucksack. It will not be heavy since you only take what you need during these days. The remaining luggage you leave at your hotel in Wamena. If you want to hire a porter to carry your luggage this will be possible. The cost is about Rp 100 000 + food per day.

During the trek in Baliem will the group have a cook to your disposal due to practical reasons. Your tour-leader will buy all the ingredients for the meals and the cost will be split between the participants. The group will eat together but you will sleep two and two in different families Water will be boiled for you in the evening. Let it cool during the night and poor it into your bottle in the morning. On the last day you will return to Wamena and stay in the same hotel as before.

These people have left their old ways and entered into modern life in only one generations time. In the 1950th there were still tribal wars and headhunting. Tools were made of stone or other natural materials. Much of the old ways are still there though the missionaries and the Indonesian schools and rough military actions have changed the society. Today everybody speak some Indonesian and satellite receivers can be found also in villages.

If you believe it will be too tough for you to go trekking for five days, you may chose to stay in Wamena and make day trips from there or make a shorter trek for one or two nights. From Wamena it is easy to just start walking at any direction. Soon you will be in the countryside. It is also possible to take a public taxi to any other village and walk from there. The large villages have market days once or twice a week. If you do stay in Wamena you will have to pay your hotel room yourself. On Friday you return to Wamena. Stay at the same hotel as before

Day 15

One last day in Wamena. Today you will visit a village outside of Wamena that will arrange a traditional Dani ceremony.This involves a mock tribal war and a fiest where a small pig is slaughtered and then cooked in an earth stove. Some 50 people will be involved. Although (an expensive) show for tourists, it is both realistic and interesting.

Day 16-19

Flight to Jayapura and transfer by car/bus to the village Depapre after that do you continue 20 minutes by boat to the village Tablasupa. Tablasupa is a village in the sea and all the houses are built on stilts. The first night will you stay with a family in the village. The second day in the village will you go by boat to two different beaches that you will use as camping sites for two days. You will have good possibilities to swim and snorkel over corral reefs. The third day you return to Tblasupa and stay in the same family as before.

Day 20

This day you return to Sentani. You have the whole day off and you can explore Sentani area or Jayapura. Transfer to the city takes about one hour. Jayapura is the province capital of Papua. During the Dutch colonial time the city was named Hollandia. During the World War II there were several battles fought around the island of New Guinea between the Japanese and the US Army. Both in Manokwari, Biak and Jayapura there are still war relics to be seen. For instance in Hamadi, a short bemo-ride from Jayapura, or at the beach named Pantai Base G, just north of the city. In the city centre there are shops of all sorts, so if you need anything you may stock up on things here. In Hamadi you have some excellent shops for sovenires.

Day 21

Flight to Denpasar via Makassar on Sulawesi. In Bali, you will stay in the same hotel as when you arrived in Indonesia three weeks ago. The hotel is located in the area of Sanur. Transfer from the airport takes about 30 minutes. In Bali you will be able to relax and enjoy all the pleasures you have missed while in Papua. I e, have a beer - in Papua all alchohol is forbidden!

Day 22

End of tour