Bali is Indonesia’s most popular destination by far. The island is indeed beautiful and has a very special vibe to it due to the Hindu religion that dominates the island. But Bali has gotten incredibly crowded over the years, and doesn’t feel as authentic or spiritual anymore as before. We’ve spent about 3 months in Indonesia, traveling from Sumatra to Flores, and Bali was definitely not our favorite place. There are many more amazing things to do in Indonesia and here are 5 of them to inspire you to explore more of this incredible country.
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Table of Contents - 5 Amazing things to do in Indonesia that are not in Bali
1. Hiking active volcanoes in Java
Indonesia has quite a few active volcanoes, and some of them you hike! Mount Bromo is probably the most famous one of them, and I found it the most impressive one.
The iconic picture of Bromo is the one taken from the viewpoint. It was beautiful to see the sunrise from there, but my most memorable moment from our visit to Bromo was hiking up to the crater for sunrise the next day.
The smoke and roaring sound coming out from the crater was just so incredibly impressive. Plus, before the sun came up, we could see an orange glow from the lava below on the smoke occasionally. This just added to the whole experience. We were also the only ones on this part of the rim. There was another group, but they were so far away, they were just dots on the horizon. We felt like we were completely alone there, watching the sun come up coloring the landscape while listening to Bromo’s roaring. A very, very different experience compared to the overly crowded viewpoint the day before.
Tours generally visit the viewpoint for sunrise, the crater right after, and then they leave again. So I recommend visiting Bromo without a tour, and visit the crater for a sunrise too as it’s just spectacular.
Ijen is another popular volcano to hike on the island of Java. It’s famous for its blue lake and sulfur mining. Locals mine the sulfur, hiking up to the rim, down to the crater, and then they need to go back with very heavy blocks of sulfur. During this process, they are exposed to dangerous levels of toxic gasses. Even those who can afford a gas mask.
Ijen is also famous for its blue flame. Sulfuric gasses burn due to the heat, which causes a blue-colored flame. The flame is only visible at night, but gasses burn throughout the day. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see it, as activity levels at Ijen where too high. It was deemed unsafe for tourists to go down to where the blue flame is visible.
Love the idea of hiking up active volcanoes? Mount Sibayak in Sumatra is another active volcano that you can hike.
2. See orangutans in their natural habitat in Sumatra
Another incredible experience in Indonesia is seeing orangutans in their natural habitat. One of the best places for this, is Bukit Lawang in North Sumatra. Many of the orangutans here are semi-wild, as either they themselves or their parents were released from captivity. This means they are still very much used to humans, and not afraid. Some guides feed them, even though they are not supposed to. It does make the orangutans come back and hang around the same area, making sightings almost guaranteed, but it also prevents the orangutans from becoming completely wild and independent.
There are many more animals to see in the Sumatran jungle and a trekking in the Gunung Leuser National Park is an amazing experience and one of the best things to do in Indonesia in my opinion.
3. Swim with turtles in the Gili islands
The Gili Islands are a very popular place amongst tourists. The beaches are beautiful and the waters are calm and clear. There is plenty of coral close to the shores of these islands, where you can spot many fish and turtles. It’s probably the best place in Indonesia to swim with turtles, and nowhere else have I seen so many! Another incredible experience.
The three Gili Islands have quite a distinctive feel to them, so if you’re planning on only visiting one, make sure to do your research as to which Gili Island is best for you. Gili Trawangan (or Gili T. in short) can feel quite crowded, I found Gili Air already a lot more pleasant, and Gili Meno was like a little piece of paradise. We snorkeled with turtles at all three islands, and all three had their distinctive charm, so if you have more time, you can easily spend a week at the Gili Islands, visiting all three of them.
4. Get up close to the world's largest lizard in Komodo National Park
Komodo National Park is the only place in the world where you can find the Komodo Dragon, the world’s biggest lizard. So just because of that reason, it has to be on this list of amazing things to do in Indonesia. But the dragons are not the only reason to visit Komodo National Park. This national park is also home to some stunning beaches, including a beach with pink sand, impressive viewpoints and world class dive sites.
There is a 4-day boat tour from Lombok to Flores or vice versa you can take, which visits Komodo National Park. But you can also very easily visit it as a day trip from Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores instead.
5. Visit the world's biggest crater lake in Sumatra
Sumatra is also home to the biggest crater lake in the world: Lake Toba. Toba is a supervolcano, which last erupted about 74.000 years ago. During this eruption, a piece of the caldera was pushed up, forming the island of Samosir.
Samosir is a great place to relax and enjoy the lake. Tuk tuk is the most touristic town on the island and makes for the best base. It might be the most touristic town, there are still not a lot of tourists, so it doesn’t feel crowded at all. It’s just a really nice and chill town. You can go for a swim in the lake, rent a kayak or SUP board, or rent a scooter and visit some amazing viewpoints or a waterfall enjoying the views on the way. The neighboring towns of Ambarita and Tomok also have musea where you can learn more about the local Batak culture.
This was 5 Amazing things to do in Indonesia that are not in Bali
Of course these experiences listed here are only a few examples of what Indonesia has to offer. With such a big and diverse country, you’re never done exploring!
