IndonesiaBali, Yogyakarta, Borobudur, Lombok, Bromo

The reason to Visit Indonesia this year!

Indonesia is 17,000 islands and a lifetime of photography. Bali alone — with its terraced rice fields at Tegallalang, the temple of Tanah Lot silhouetted against the sea at sunset, the Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu's clifftop amphitheatre, and the extraordinary spiritual density of Ubud — could occupy a dedicated photographer for weeks. Beyond Bali, the Buddhist monument of Borobudur at dawn is one of Asia's great travel experiences, the active volcano of Bromo rising from a sea of cloud is like nothing else I've seen, and the blue fire of Kawah Ijen, visible only at night, produces photographs that look supernatural.

Borobudur at sunrise — arriving before dawn and climbing to the upper terraces as the mist burns off the surrounding jungle is one of the finest photographic experiences in Southeast Asia. The stupa-lined terraces with the Kedu Plain stretching out below glow in the early light in a way that afternoon visits completely miss.

Bali's rice terraces — Tegallalang near Ubud is the most-photographed, but Jatiluwih in the west is larger, less crowded, and has a UNESCO designation for good reason. The stepped geometry of the paddies, bright green in growing season, is endlessly compositional.

Mount Bromo — the volcanic complex of Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, with its smoking crater and surrounding sea of volcanic sand, is best photographed from Penanjakan viewpoint before sunrise. The drive up in a jeep in the dark, arriving at the viewpoint as the sky lightens, is one of the great adventure photography experiences in Indonesia.

Ubud's offerings and temple life — Bali's spiritual life is lived publicly. Women place daily offerings outside every home and business, temple festivals happen constantly, and the combination of incense, flowers, and prayer creates an atmosphere that's deeply photogenic without ever feeling staged.

Indonesia Is 17,000 Islands. Most Visitors See Three.

Raja Ampat, West Papua — the most biodiverse marine environment on Earth. Raja Ampat contains around 75% of all the world's coral species — a figure that defies comprehension until you put your head underwater for the first time and understand what it actually means. Manta rays, whale sharks, pygmy seahorses the size of a fingernail, schooling fish in numbers that block the light — this is the Coral Triangle at its most concentrated. Two decades ago, local Papuan communities made a historic decision: rather than allow industrial fishing, they created marine protected areas, established local patrol teams to stop dynamite fishing, and invited responsible travellers to come and see what they were protecting. The eco-lodges of Raja Ampat — Kri Eco Resort, Papua Diving, Raja Ampat Biodiversity — run almost entirely on solar power, employ local staff, and reinvest in reef monitoring and education. Getting here requires a flight to Sorong (via Makassar or Manado) then a boat — expensive and genuinely remote — but for divers and underwater photographers, it is simply the best in the world.

Tana Toraja, Sulawesi — high in the mountains of South Sulawesi, the Toraja people have maintained one of the most distinctive and complex cultures in Southeast Asia. Their traditional tongkonan houses — with their extraordinary boat-shaped roofs curving up at both ends — dot the green mountain landscape in a way that looks entirely unlike anything else in Indonesia. But what draws most visitors is the funeral culture: Torajan funerals are enormous multi-day festivals involving hundreds or thousands of guests, traditional music, ceremonial buffalo sacrifice, and the journey of the deceased to elaborate cliff-carved tombs (liang pa'). The tau-tau — effigies of the deceased placed in balconies cut into the rock face — look down over the valleys with an eeriness that is unlike anything else in the world. Torajan funerals happen throughout the year, particularly July to September, and visitors are generally welcome to observe respectfully.

Komodo & Flores — Komodo National Park, in East Nusa Tenggara, is home to the Komodo dragon — the world's largest lizard, which can reach 3 metres and kill prey with a venomous bite. The guided walk on Komodo or Rinca island to see the dragons in their natural habitat is extraordinary. The surrounding waters are among the best diving in Indonesia — strong currents attract manta rays, sharks, and extraordinary fish life. The nearby pink-sand beach of Pantai Merah is one of the most unusual in the world. Flores island itself is largely untouched by mass tourism, its 14 volcanoes, traditional ikat weaving villages, and the multicoloured volcanic crater lakes of Kelimutu making it one of Indonesia's most rewarding overland journeys.

Sumatra — Orangutans & the Rainforest — Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra, accessible from Bukit Lawang, offers one of the world's last opportunities to observe semi-wild orangutans in their natural rainforest habitat. A 2–3 day jungle trek with a licensed guide takes you deep into the rainforest, sleeping in basic camps along the river, and watching these extraordinary creatures — sharing 97% of our DNA — build nests, forage, and interact with completely matter-of-fact dignity. The Sumatran orangutan is critically endangered; an estimated 14,000 remain in the wild.

Kalimantan (Borneo) — the Indonesian portion of Borneo remains one of the world's great wilderness frontiers. Tanjung Puting National Park offers klotok (wooden houseboat) river safaris through dense lowland rainforest. Camp Leakey, a famous orangutan research station deep in the park, allows visitors to observe semi-wild orangutans at close range. The Dayak people — Borneo's indigenous communities — maintain longhouse traditions and offer community homestays in some of the most remote river villages in Southeast Asia.

Wakatobi, Sulawesi — a remote marine national park considered one of the finest and most pristine diving destinations in the world. Unlike Raja Ampat, it remains almost entirely off the general tourist radar. The coral reefs here have never been dynamite-fished and the marine life density is extraordinary. Access requires a domestic flight to Wangi-Wangi — remote, expensive, and completely worthwhile.

Ternate, Halmahera, Manado — and the Routes That Changed the World

Before Bali existed on any European map, before Indonesia was a country, before the VOC or the British East India Company had been imagined — the islands of North Maluku were the most valuable real estate on Earth. Cloves, nutmeg, and mace grew only here, in the volcanic soil of a handful of tiny islands in the Banda Sea, and their value was so extraordinary that European powers sent entire fleets and fought wars over them. The Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and British all carved their names into this landscape — in forts, in trade routes, in the genetic heritage of the local population — and the traces of that history are still visible and largely unvisited by anyone.

Ternate — a small, cone-shaped volcanic island dominated by Mount Gamalama, an active volcano whose slopes are still planted with clove trees as they have been for centuries. Ternate was, from the 14th through 18th centuries, the capital of one of the most powerful sultanates in eastern Indonesia and the centre of the global spice trade. Fort Oranje (built by the Dutch in 1607 as the first VOC office in Indonesia) and Fort Tolukko (Portuguese, 1512) still stand in remarkable condition overlooking the sea. Ternate is also where Alfred Russel Wallace independently formulated the theory of evolution — the house where he wrote his famous letter to Darwin still stands and can be visited. This is a destination for the historically curious — but for anyone fascinated by the hidden threads of global history, it is extraordinary.

Halmahera — the largest island in North Maluku, almost entirely unknown to international tourism. Its interior remains one of the last significant patches of primary rainforest in the Maluku islands, home to endemic bird species found nowhere else on Earth (the Wallace Line runs just west of here — the boundary between Asian and Australian fauna zones that Wallace himself identified). The bays and reefs around Halmahera's coasts offer diving comparable to Bunaken with almost none of the visitors.

Manado & North Sulawesi — the gateway to one of the great diving clusters in the world. Bunaken National Marine Park, 40 minutes by boat from Manado, was one of Indonesia's first marine protected areas — coral walls dropping vertically into the deep, with over 70% of all fish species found in the Indo-Western Pacific. Lembeh Strait is considered the world capital of "muck diving" — slow-paced macro photography in black volcanic sand, where mimic octopus, rhinopias, hairy frogfish, blue-ringed octopus, and dozens of rare pygmy seahorse species live. Photographers come from around the world specifically for Lembeh.

A personal note: this section was inspired by a LinkedIn comment from Karin Schraverus, whom I met in Belgium, whose Indonesian mother was born on Ternate in 1927 and whose grandfather had coconut plantations on Halmahera. Her family's connection to these islands is a reminder that Indonesia's history is woven through the personal stories of millions of people, many of them far from home.

Is It Worth Visiting? Is It Safe? Yes, and Yes — With Your Eyes Open.

Timor-Leste is one of the most extraordinary and least-visited countries in Southeast Asia. Occupying the eastern half of the island of Timor, it became the world's first new country of the 21st century when it achieved independence from Indonesia in 2002 — after 450 years of Portuguese colonisation, a brutal 24-year Indonesian occupation (1975–1999), and a UN-administered transition period. The name itself is a small linguistic curiosity: timor means "east" in Indonesian, and leste means "east" in Portuguese — so the country is literally called "East East." It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in Asia.

Is it safe? The honest answer is: generally yes, with normal precautions, but not without caveats. The US State Department rates it Level 2 ("Exercise Increased Caution") due to crime and occasional civil unrest. Avoid being out alone at night in Dili. But most travellers who visit — particularly those going for diving and eco-tourism — report a safe and deeply memorable experience. Atauro Island, the main diving destination, is notably safer and more peaceful than Dili. The Timorese people are almost universally described as extraordinarily warm and welcoming to visitors.

Why go?

Atauro Island — 30 kilometres north of Dili, accessible by ferry (2–3 hours) or speedboat. Scientists have identified Atauro's waters as containing the highest recorded density of reef fish species in the world — 642 species in the surrounding waters, more per square kilometre than anywhere else on Earth. The diving and snorkelling here is world-class and almost entirely undiscovered by international tourism. Community-based eco-lodges run by local fishing communities offer simple accommodation and extraordinary ocean access. Whale watching off Atauro is also remarkable — spinner dolphins, sperm whales, and blue whales are all regularly seen in the Ombai Strait.

History — Dili's Resistance Museum tells the story of the Indonesian occupation and the independence struggle with dignity and without softening the horror of what happened here. The Cristo Rei statue (a 27-metre Christ figure on the eastern headland of Dili, reached by a staircase of 520 steps) offers panoramic views over the capital and the Banda Sea.

Jaco Island — at the far eastern tip of Timor-Leste, a pristine uninhabited island considered sacred by local Timorese. Landing requires permission and respect — some operators offer snorkelling and day trips in the surrounding waters, which are exceptional.

Practical notes — Dili is accessible by direct flight from Bali, Darwin (Australia), and Singapore. Visa on arrival is available for most nationalities (30 days, tourist). Bring cash — there are no ATMs on Atauro or Jaco. US dollars are the official currency. The cost of living is surprisingly high relative to Indonesia — this is not a budget destination despite its remoteness.