Tourism in the Bird's Head Peninsula of Papua Barat

Papua Barat is the least developed province of Indonesia. This automatically means that accommodation, meals and transport will not always meet your expectations. It also means that standards are not as high as you're maybe used to in other parts of Indonesia.

There's also no such thing as fixed prices for tours or trips; often prices vary depending on e.g. the availibility of gasoline or weather circumstances. And due to the famous ‘jam karet' (rubber time) in Indonesia, you will most likely from time to time experience inconvenience caused by delayed - or even cancelled - flights.

Although the tourist infrastructure is still very basic, this is - at the same time - the biggest charm of travelling in this region: travellers have to adopt a flexible attitude while travelling in Papua Barat. Only then they can really discover and experience the richness of the Papuan cultural and ecological heritage.

Transport in West Papua

There are two daily flights from Makassar (Sulawesi) to Manokwari. From Manokwari there are daily connections to Sorong, Biak, Jayapura and weekly flights to Manado.

Several airlines offer flights to the interior. The Rendani Airport is 7 km from the center of Manokwari. PELNI-ferries in the harbor of Manokwari offers weekly rides to Sorong, Biak and Jayapura. Smaller boats take passengers to Numfor, Windesi and Wasior.

Climate

Temperature : ± 33° C
Mean Humidity : 85 %
Sun Intensity : 54 %
Rainy Days : 124 days/year
Average Rainfall : 2700 mm

There is no pronounced rain season, although the chances of rain are slightly higher from November to February. Sometimes there may be several consecutive days with rain during the day and heavy rain showers may occur during the night.

Flora and Fauna

A large part of West Papua's wildlife and vegetation is of Australian origin. West Papua's biodiversity is one of the broadest in the world. The island harbors over 2700 species of orchids, liana, medicinal plants and an abundance of tree ferns. At least 650 species of birds and subspecies are found in the area.

In the highlands of the Penungan Arfak nature reserve 320 species of birds have been registered. It is home for several species of birds of paradise, parrots, cockatoos, the Little Egret, the New Guinea Harpy Eagle, several types of Bower birds and the Arfak Astrapia. Besides this, around 110 mammal species roam the Arfak mountains, including 30 types of marsupials, tree kangaroos, many ‘cus-cus' (tree-dwelling marsupial) species, flying foxes, bats and opossums. Furthermore Papua Barat is the habitat to countless insects and reptiles, for example large, hand-sized butterflies and the smaller relative to the Komodo dragon.

Dazzling corals and paradise-like islands can be found in the marine reserves Raja Ampat Marine Park and Cenderawasih Marine Parkare. These unique areas have an unprecedented richness in biodiversity: dolphins, turtles, manta rays, pilot whales, pygmy seahorse, and so on.