Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 157

Introduction
The Indonesian archipelago spreads over 5200km between the Asian mainland
and Australia, all of it within the tropics, and comprises 17,000 islands to
explore. Its ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity is correspondingly great
- more than 500 languages and dialects are spoken by its 250 million people,
whose fascinating customs and lifestyles are a major attraction.

Indonesia is ripe with highlights across
the archipelago, beginning in Medan on
Sumatra's northeast coast. From here, the
classic itinerary runs to the thick jungles
and orang-utan sanctuary at Bukit
Lawang and down towards the lakeside
resorts on Pulau Samosir in Southeast
Asia's largest lake, Danau Toba . Further
south, the area around the laidback town

of Bukittinggi appeals because of its
flamboyant Minangkabau architecture,
the beautiful scenery around Danau
Maninjau and the ra esia reserves in the
hills. Many travellers then hurtle through
to Java , probably spending no more than
a night in the tra c-clogged capital
Jakarta in their rush to the ancient
cultural capital of Yogyakarta - the best

Banda Aceh

THAILAND

SOUTH CHINA SEA

4

Penang

GUNUNG
LEUSER
NATIONAL
PARK

PENINSULAR
MALAYSIA

Medan

MALAYSIA BRUNEI

SABAH

KUALA LUMPUR

Danau Toba

Natuna

Sibolga

Dumai
Pekanbaru

SARAWAK Pulau Nias

SINGAPORE

Kuching

Sumatra Riau Islands

Lingga
Islands

Bukittinggi

Borneo

Padang

Pontianak

Jambi

Samarinda

KALIMANTAN

Balikpapan

Bangka

Palembang

Bengkulu

Belitung

Banjarmasin

Bandar
Lampung

JAVA SEA

JAKARTA

Bogor

Cirebon Pulau

Madura

Semarang

Bandung

Java

Surakarta

Surabaya

Cilacap

BALI SEA

Metres

Malang

Yogyakarta

Lombok

1000
500

Bali

Banyuwangi

Mataram

Denpasar

Sumbawa

200

100

INDIAN OCEAN

0

0 500

kilometres