Indonesia was the finishing line in Race across the World, but take your time to enjoy its jungles, turquoise waters and island paradises...
Lucy Thackray - 28 May 2024
Where are “the ends of the earth”? It depends, of course, on where you’re currently sitting. For contestants on the most recent series of Race across the World, which reached its climax last week, theirs was Lombok, Indonesia – the finishing line for their weeks long mission. Five teams travelled south-west from Japan to reach it, banned from using air travel, smartphones or credit cards. Seen on screen, Indonesia looks a little familiar – thank its photogenic island Bali for that – yet much of it is a mystery. End to end, it spans a distance wider than the broadest part of the USA, yet Bali dominates its presence on tour operator websites and Instagram. If you’re looking for your own remote, ends-of-the-earth feel here, you’ll need to go further. Try these beauties:
LOMBOK
Easily reachable from Bali by 40-minute flight or 90-minute boat, Lombok is all about untamed nature. Virgin beaches, thundering waterfalls, mountain treks, wild camping – this is the Action Man to Bali’s beach Barbie. Mount Rinjani is the headliner: it takes two days to reach the summit, but the view – a Day-Glo teal lake encircled by a yawning volcanic crater – will charge you up for the climb down. Hire local guides to take you to secluded waterfalls, or smaller islands such as snorkeller’s paradise Gili Nanggu.
SUMBA
Increasingly on the tourist radar as a quieter, eco-chic alternative to Bali, Sumba is just an hour’s flight from that hedonistic hot spot. The most remote areas here are to the east of the island, a green swathe of wild nature. Seek out the idyllic Walakiri Beach, the vast, ridged Wairinding hills and exotic waterfalls like Wai Marang, with its jade swimming hole. (If you’re interested in Indonesian ikat fabrics, Sumba’s small traditional villages are good places to pick them up.) You can also stay at some small-scale luxury hotels here, riding Sumbanese horses along the beach and surfing some of the best waves in the country.
RAJA AMPAT
Divers always know the most beautiful and off-the-beaten-track parts of South East Asia, and scuba favourite Raja Ampat has an almost mythical quality. The wetsuit crew comes for its incredible biodiversity: around 75 per cent of the world’s coral species can be found here, along with 1,000 species of reef fish, manta rays, whale sharks and turtles. Made up of some 1,500 micro-islands, it has a sprinkling of traditional Papuan accommodation – mainly huts on stilts – as well as beachfront homestays with local families.
KOMODO NATIONAL PARK
This park’s namesake creature captures the imagination of mini Attenboroughs the world over, and you’ll certainly feel six years old again in the presence of a three-metre Komodo dragon. Found off the coast of Flores island and only accessible by organised tour, Komodo National Park is home to around 2,500 of these outsized monitor lizards. You’ll leave from the port of Labuan Bajo to reach Komodo or Rinca island, where a local guide will lead you on a walk to see them (many boats linger a night or two for consecutive visits). There are also pink-sand beaches and snorkelling spots.
FLORES ISLAND
Speaking of Flores, you’ll want to spend time there before or after Komodo. Stacked with dazzling views, jungle foliage and rugged rocky landscapes, it’s another active paradise: visit Kelimutu National Park for its turquoise crater lakes, or take the four-hour hike from main hub Labuan Bajo to Wae Rebo village to see its distinctive conical houses. Flores has some chic little beachfront hotels, too; this is where to take a more pam[1]pering breather after some of your more isolated island stops.
WIDI ISLANDS
A string of 99 islands, the Widis are another destination-within-a-des[1]tination. Their pearly-white shores and palm-forested interiors give them the nickname “the Maldives of Indonesia” – only with fewer inhabited islands, zero luxury resorts and more birdwatching. Fly to Ternate and take the boat or plane to Labuha port on Bacan, home to a handful of hotels. Generally the Widis can only be toured via boat, though some tourists are invited to stay in fishermen’s houses on Daga island. Eco-lodges are planned in the coming years, so this is your last chance to visit them in their purest form.
SIAU ISLAND
Wildlife-watching heaven Siau is the home of huge-eyed primate the tarsier – though Mount Karangetang, an active volcano with smoking craters, is just as much of a draw. Siau is also the jumping-off point for visiting Mahoro island, 30 minutes away by speedboat. This is one of Indonesia’s most bewitching beaches, with a huge humped green island dropping down to a flat expanse of white sand, cradled by a neon-blue lagoon. Kick off your sandals. You’ve done it: you’ve reached the ends of the earth.
Where are “the ends of the earth”? It depends, of course, on where you’re currently sitting. For contestants on the most recent series of Race across the World, which reached its climax last week, theirs was Lombok, Indonesia – the finishing line for their weeks long mission. Five teams travelled south-west from Japan to reach it, banned from using air travel, smartphones or credit cards. Seen on screen, Indonesia looks a little familiar – thank its photogenic island Bali for that – yet much of it is a mystery. End to end, it spans a distance wider than the broadest part of the USA, yet Bali dominates its presence on tour operator websites and Instagram. If you’re looking for your own remote, ends-of-the-earth feel here, you’ll need to go further. Try these beauties:
LOMBOK
Easily reachable from Bali by 40-minute flight or 90-minute boat, Lombok is all about untamed nature. Virgin beaches, thundering waterfalls, mountain treks, wild camping – this is the Action Man to Bali’s beach Barbie. Mount Rinjani is the headliner: it takes two days to reach the summit, but the view – a Day-Glo teal lake encircled by a yawning volcanic crater – will charge you up for the climb down. Hire local guides to take you to secluded waterfalls, or smaller islands such as snorkeller’s paradise Gili Nanggu.
SUMBA
Increasingly on the tourist radar as a quieter, eco-chic alternative to Bali, Sumba is just an hour’s flight from that hedonistic hot spot. The most remote areas here are to the east of the island, a green swathe of wild nature. Seek out the idyllic Walakiri Beach, the vast, ridged Wairinding hills and exotic waterfalls like Wai Marang, with its jade swimming hole. (If you’re interested in Indonesian ikat fabrics, Sumba’s small traditional villages are good places to pick them up.) You can also stay at some small-scale luxury hotels here, riding Sumbanese horses along the beach and surfing some of the best waves in the country.
RAJA AMPAT
Divers always know the most beautiful and off-the-beaten-track parts of South East Asia, and scuba favourite Raja Ampat has an almost mythical quality. The wetsuit crew comes for its incredible biodiversity: around 75 per cent of the world’s coral species can be found here, along with 1,000 species of reef fish, manta rays, whale sharks and turtles. Made up of some 1,500 micro-islands, it has a sprinkling of traditional Papuan accommodation – mainly huts on stilts – as well as beachfront homestays with local families.
KOMODO NATIONAL PARK
This park’s namesake creature captures the imagination of mini Attenboroughs the world over, and you’ll certainly feel six years old again in the presence of a three-metre Komodo dragon. Found off the coast of Flores island and only accessible by organised tour, Komodo National Park is home to around 2,500 of these outsized monitor lizards. You’ll leave from the port of Labuan Bajo to reach Komodo or Rinca island, where a local guide will lead you on a walk to see them (many boats linger a night or two for consecutive visits). There are also pink-sand beaches and snorkelling spots.
FLORES ISLAND
Speaking of Flores, you’ll want to spend time there before or after Komodo. Stacked with dazzling views, jungle foliage and rugged rocky landscapes, it’s another active paradise: visit Kelimutu National Park for its turquoise crater lakes, or take the four-hour hike from main hub Labuan Bajo to Wae Rebo village to see its distinctive conical houses. Flores has some chic little beachfront hotels, too; this is where to take a more pam[1]pering breather after some of your more isolated island stops.
WIDI ISLANDS
A string of 99 islands, the Widis are another destination-within-a-des[1]tination. Their pearly-white shores and palm-forested interiors give them the nickname “the Maldives of Indonesia” – only with fewer inhabited islands, zero luxury resorts and more birdwatching. Fly to Ternate and take the boat or plane to Labuha port on Bacan, home to a handful of hotels. Generally the Widis can only be toured via boat, though some tourists are invited to stay in fishermen’s houses on Daga island. Eco-lodges are planned in the coming years, so this is your last chance to visit them in their purest form.
SIAU ISLAND
Wildlife-watching heaven Siau is the home of huge-eyed primate the tarsier – though Mount Karangetang, an active volcano with smoking craters, is just as much of a draw. Siau is also the jumping-off point for visiting Mahoro island, 30 minutes away by speedboat. This is one of Indonesia’s most bewitching beaches, with a huge humped green island dropping down to a flat expanse of white sand, cradled by a neon-blue lagoon. Kick off your sandals. You’ve done it: you’ve reached the ends of the earth.