Papua Adventures

Papua Traveling and Adventures (LC)

Introduction to West Papua

West Papua forms the western half of the large island widely known as New Guinea. Administratively part of Indonesia, West Papua is officially known as Irian Jaya.

To experience West Papua is to embark on a voyage into one of humanity's deepest mysteries. This far-away and little known island lies like a curled infant in the lap of Mother Nature.

West Papua is home to the most ethnologically primitive cultures on Earth. No less than 25% of the world's languages are spoken here and obviously you will find a vast display of tribes and tribal customs. These are people largely unaffected by the strictures of the modern world as we know it; a race adapted to daily life solely through their basic survival elements.

The land of the Papuans is home to an incredibly diverse, rich and unique flora and fauna. No less than 85% ofthe island is covered by rainforest, much if it primary and untouched by man. Other prevailing ecosystems include steamy mangrove forest and savannah right through to alpine highlands with snow-capped mountains. Wildlife abounds and includes some of the most interesting creatures known to man. This also holds true with the magical beauty of West Papua's coastal underwater world, which hosts some truly amazing coral reefs.

Our singular appreciation and understanding of this island not only allows you the opportunity to visit and appreciate this most primitive of lands, but we also present you with the opportunity to experience and explore a completely unique human reality which can deepen your own sense of being and purpose. Root cultures such as those found in Papua hold an appreciation of deep earth secrets that can be shared only through direct experience. These are humans intrinsically interwoven with the natural fabric of their environment.

Many parts of West Papua still remain largely unexplored by peering, inquisitive western eyes and minds. For example, it has only been around 60 years since the outside world fell upon the tribes that inhabit the Baliem Valley in West Papua. The Korowai tribes were only discovered 25 years ago and other areas remain completely unexplored.

There remains a tremendous gap between those of us raised in western society and the most primitive people still alive on earth. If you are an individual who enjoys the exploration of this mysterious human condition you would certainly find a visit to West Papua immensely rewarding. Equally, if you simply enjoy and appreciate environments totally different from your own, then West Papua is surely for you.


Source : http://www.papua-adventures.com/introduction.html

Baliem Valley – West Papua (Irian Jaya)

Baliem Valley, inhabited by the Dani tribe, is the most fertile part of the highland covering the west of the New Guinea Island – Papua (Irian Jaya). Baliem Valley lies about 1800 m above the sea level, and it is surrounded by a crest of mountians some of which reach up to 4500 m. There are even some fish in the Baliem River which flows through the valley. The area covered by the Baliem valley is not large, roughly 60×30 km.


The first missionary, Loyd van Stone, parachuted there as late as 1954. Only then did the civilization of the Baliem valley, and Dani and Lani tribes, begin. Since then, the Baliem valley has become a gate for discovering the west of the Papua highland. No road has been built there yet, but in Wamana a large airport was built, and supplies are now transported by large freight airplanes. American Hercules planes brought vans and construction machinery. Thanks to this, a large network of asphalt roads could emerge, brick houses were built, etc. Despite all these developments, the Baliem valley is still dominated by the straw roofs of the Dani tribe.

Source : http://www.papuatrekking.com/Dani_Lani_tribe_Baliem_valley.html
Asmat People

Asmat People

The tidal swampland of Irian’s south cost are of the best known , tangle of mangrove line the shore and inland from the river the vegetation is so thick as to be almost penetrable. Only the riverbanks are habitable. This is land of the Asmat, now world famous for their spectacular wood carvings and previously notorious as head-hunters and cannibals.
Visiting the Asmat region around Agats requires hiring a dugout canoe with a guide and sleeping at night on bark floor of a JEU-the long raised men’s hut that serve as an architectural and cultural center of Asmat villages.

In the villages you can watch wood carvers at work, see how canoes are hollowed out and decorated and look around the place and chat with your host. You might even stumble onto a festival accompanied by night long-drumming and dancing, special carvings and general high spirits. In the morning you may join the Asmat people going fishing, collecting Sago grabs, and another kind of local vegetables for daily diet.
Back To Top