Indonesien

Known locally as Kalbar – short for Kalimantan Bara – West Kalimantan is a sizeable province bordering Malaysian Sarawak to the north and the Java Sea to the west. Its capital, Pontianak, is a transport hub for flights and as a start or end point for the Cross-Borneo Trek, while travellers with a passion for remote national parks and river journeys will find Kalimantan's longest river, Sungai Kapuas, and some very isolated pockets of near-pristine jungle wilderness, but overall the province is largely off the traveller radar.

The legendary Baliem Valley is the most popular and most accessible destination in Papua’s interior. The Dani people who live here were still dependent on tools of stone, bone and wood when a natural-history expedition led by American Richard Archbold chanced upon the valley in 1938. Dani life has since changed enormously with stone axes being replaced by mobile phones and age-old belief systems with Christianity, but even so the changes are often skin-deep and the valley and surrounding highlands remain one of the world’s last fascinatingly traditional areas. Visiting the Baliem Valley and trekking through high mountain scenery, past neat and orderly Dani villages, takes you to a world far removed from Jakarta and is an honour and an experience to be savoured. For most people it is the highlight of Papua.

Look towards the open ocean southeast of Bali and the hazy bulk of Nusa Penida dominates the view. But for many visitors the real focus is Nusa Lembongan, which sits in the shadow of its vastly larger neighbour. Here, there's great surfing, amazing diving, languorous beaches and the kind of laid-back vibe travellers cherish.

Even as development from south Bali creeps ever further west (via hot spots such as Canggu), Bali's true west, which is off the busy main road from Tabanan to Gilimanuk, remains infrequently visited. It's easy to find serenity amid its wild beaches, jungle and rice fields.

Restaurang Ijen är den första i Indonesien som följer en nollavfallsfilosofi. En middag här garanterar miljövänlig mat på tallriken samt hållbara möbler att sitta på gjorda av exempelvis skumgummi och återvunnet trä.

Kupang is the capital of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). Despite the city’s scruffy waterfront, sprawling gnarl of traffic and a lack of eye-catching architectural elements, this is a place you can get used to. Besides, there are atmospheric markets in the centre, spots to relax beside locals and a smattering of nearby natural wonders. The energy can be contagious – it's a university town, after all – even if you're just popping in and out.

Lombok's original tourist resort, Senggigi enjoys a fine location along a series of sweeping bays, with light-sand beaches below a backdrop of jungle-clad mountains and coconut palms. In the evening a setting blood-red sun sinks into the surf next to the giant triangular cone of Bali's Gunung Agung.

This enchanting harbor town is perpetually being upgraded to cope with more travelers. It's the jumping-off point to see prehistoric dragons at Komodo National Park and be awed by world-class diving, and those who stay a little longer fall in love with "Bajo."

The idyllic islands of Maluku once played an unlikely but hugely important role in global geopolitics and economics. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Maluku was the world's only source of nutmeg, cloves and mace, then vital and very valuable commodities. The search and subsequent fight for control of the Spice Islands (known then as the Moluccas) helped kick-start European colonialism and, thanks to a series of wrong turns and one auspicious land swap, shaped the modern world.

Spectacular Komodo, its steep hillsides jade in the short wet season (December to March) and frazzled by sun to a rusty tan that makes its crystal waters pop the rest of the year, is the largest island in Komodo National Park. A succession of peninsulas spread east, each providing a different perspective with some fringed in pink sand due to red coral offshore.