On an archipelago that stretches over 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles), Indonesia's national parks offer up-close contact with orangutans, leopards, and chattering rhino hornbills (and even Komodo dragons), and there are plenty of thrilling adventure opportunities.
Indonesia has an amazing 52 national parks, one every week of the year. However, if you don't have that much time to spend, we've collected favorites from Java, Kalimantan, Flores, Bali, Sumatra, and more. Here are the best eight.
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, East Java
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park rewards early birdlets. You'll need to leave your hotel at 3:30 a.m. to enjoy the sunrise from mt bromo, the island's most famous active volcano, but it's worth seeing dawn on the Tengger Mountains and the mighty Mt Semeru, which is 3,676 meters (2.3 miles) high. After dawn, travelers continue in a 4WD vehicle to the crater rim, passing through a moon-like landscape known as the Sea of Sand.
Adventurous hikers can walk, an almost surreal crossing through desolate, vast plains. On the way up the mountain, you'll meet local Tengger knights who wear traditional insulating cloth to ward off the cold. Temperatures in the morning can be as low as 4°C (39°F), so make sure you bring warm gloves, a wool hat, and a jacket, or rent a jacket there for around $2. After riding through the sand sea, the last thrust is to climb 250 flights of stairs to the crater edge of Mount Bromo. From the edges, you can peek into the bellows of an active volcano – a large amount of bubbling liquid, sulfur and smoke.
Palong Hills National Park, West Kalimantan
In Indonesia's West Kalimantan province, this remote 108,000-hectare (417 sq mi) park flanked by the Gunung Panti Mountains, which has a concentrated wildlife corridor where you're almost guaranteed to spot orangutans in their wild habitat. About 2,500 Middle Bornean orangutans live in the park, and you'll also find sun bears, white-handed gibbons, dull-eyed Hosfield tarsiers, and comically overactive proboscis monkeys.
Like all national parks in Indonesia, you must hire a registered tour guide to visit. There are a variety of hiking trails, including a three-hour mid-level rainforest hike, along fruit trails and dung on the forest floor to the orangutan nesting site, in the trees. (To learn more about these primates, which share 99 percent of our human DNA, check out the United Nations Great Ape Survival Project.)
East Java Baruran National Park
Known locally as Little Africa, Baruran National Park is a dramatic desert savannah teeming with wildlife that covers about 23,713 hectares (92 square miles) of land in East Java, as well as another 4,155 hectares (16 square miles) of waterfront. You may encounter a few buffalo here, as well as flocks of wild peacocks. Also listen to the barking of the deer. There are 56 clouded leopards in the park, and the elusive protection cats come out hunting at night. Spending a night at a hotel gives you the best chance to see them. Park rangers can be authorized to stay overnight through special arrangements.
Other more easily spotted species include langurs, endangered wild Asian dogs, Javan warthogs, monitor lizards, fruit bats, squirrels and civets. Birdwatchers can find 155 species, including kingfishers, white-throated needletails, and hummingbirds. Bring your binoculars, swimsuit, and picnic lunch – there is a special cage area in the main strip of Bama Beach where monkey-free meals can be enjoyed.
West Bali National Park, Bali
If you like turquoise waters, secret beaches, hiking, and birds, head to Bali's remote western tip. Since 1917, West Bali has been a designated nature park with rainforest trails, dry savannas and mountain forests embracing two extinct volcanoes. Hike through the Tegal Blunder Trail, where you will have the opportunity to spy on the endangered Balinese starling, one of the park's main attractions. Keep an eye out for kingfishers, dollar birds, and barn swallows, as well as bison, Javanese russa, Indian bunting, large flying foxes, and small and timid ocelots.
For snorkeling in some of Bali's best calm waters, rent a local boat for 30 minutes to the nearby uninhabited Island of Menjangan (Kashima). Walk 40 minutes through the island, past the beautiful Hindu temple Puri Gili Kencana, and finally arrive at the huge white Ganesha statue facing the sea.
Alaspurvo National Park, East Java
The ancient forest of Alas Purwo tells the story of the mystics who lived in the caves, and you can hire a guide to hike to those caves that are still in use today. Visit Puura Luhur Giri Salaka, revered as one of the most sacred Hindu temples in Indonesia; Wave to local fishermen as your boat crosses the lake to the gloomy dark mangroves; And with the rangers at the turtle hatchery to release baby turtles back into the sea - a magical experience, all.
On the 80-hectare (198-acre) savannah of Alaspurvo National Park, keep an eye out for the endangered banteng (bison with crooked horns) and protected Javanese langur, cave and clouded leopard species. Let the ranger tell you the story of his leopard and show you his photos and videos.
Surfers will know about the international surf break G-Land near the Brambang Island.
Spend the night in a luxury tent in the park, after sunset, and enjoy a roaring beachfront bonfire and a locally caught seafood barbecue. Gaze at the labyrinth of colorful rock pools at low tide, home to strange rainbow critters. The staff worked hard to keep the roaming monkeys out of the bay.
Komodo National Park, Lesser Sunda Islands
At the heart of the Indonesian archipelago is Komodo National Park, a top destination for hiking, swimming, and snorkeling, including the volcanic islands of Rinka, Komodo, and Padar. Linca is home to mangroves and lurking saltwater crocodiles, while Komodo is a top dive site, home to nearly 80% of the world's coral species and nearly 40% of its reef fish. Hike to the top of each island for stunning panoramic views.
The world's largest lizards are often spotted on their namesake islands, but it's not uncommon to see Komodo dragons lounging around the marina and meet your boat in Rinca! As you go exploring, stick to the trails and get close to your guide - they are armed with two-pronged sticks, although attacks on people are very rare.
Mount Røse National Park, North Sumatra
Spanning across the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh, Gunung Leuser National Park, which spans 830,000 hectares (3,205 square miles), is home to five of Indonesia's greatest animals: orangutans, tigers, elephants, rhinos and sun bears.
Home to the largest intact forest on the vast island of Sumatra, this is a jungle trekker's paradise and is home to 89 endangered species. Sumatran tigers are very shy, but talk to women washing clothes on the riverbank next to the jungle hut and they will be happy to point out the tiger's footprints.
Take a foothold in the hidden village of Tangkahan, where the only way to get to your accommodation is by taking a ride over a high suspension bridge. (Arriving by elephant is also technically an option, but shoulder-to-shoulder and sitting on howdahs or elephant wagons can cause pain and spinal damage to the animals, which animal welfare organizations generally discourage.)
Tanjung Putin National Park, Central Kalimantan
In central Kalimantan, Borneo's Tanjung Puting National Park is all about apes. These protected lands are known for their orangutan conservation, and with four research centers, your chances of seeing apes in their natural habitat are 100%. The park is also home to proboscis monkeys and six-inch noses.
For the best experience, take the klotok (traditional houseboat) along the Sekonyer River to Camp Leakey, a rehabilitation center founded in 1971 to care for the primates endemic to the area. As you make your way through peat and wasteland, coastal beech, and mangroves, you can stretch out on the boat's wooden deck — a three-day tour that travels at 3 km/h (1.9 mph), with hornbills swooping in the sky and orangutans crashing through the treetops.