Indonesia Highlights: Sulawesi, Java & Komodo

Knobbed Hornbill © feathercollector/Shutterstock

A nation of thousands of islands, Indonesia is one of the world’s great birding and wildlife destinations. Our itinerary includes comfortable hotels, well-protected forests, and good infrastructure. We will get up close to the incredible Komodo Dragon and take in a fabulous cross section of Indonesian birds.

Indonesia is home to more than 1,500 species of birds. Alfred Russel Wallace spent eight years exploring this remarkable country, collecting more than 100,000 specimens including an amazing series of birds. After Wallace realized that the deep passage of water, the Sunda Strait separating Bali from Lombok, had two very different populations of wildlife on either side, the term Wallace’s Line was coined. We will visit national parks on both sides of Wallace’s Line and obtain firsthand experience of the great differences in wildlife as experienced by Wallace.

We will begin on the northern peninsula of the extraordinary star-shaped island of Sulawesi. Here, in hill forests and lowland forests, staying in lovely hotels, we will search for a trove of wildlife. Mammal possibilities include the goggle-eyed Gursky's Spectral Tarsier, the bizarre Bear Cuscus, and fabulous Black Crested Macaques. Kingfishers, hornbills, parrots, pigeons, cuckoos, and strange starlings lead the way in an impressively rich birding region.

From Sulawesi we will travel to Sumatra and Java, volcanic islands with fertile soils and a massive population. As representatives of the Greater Sunda Islands, Java and Sumatra have a wildlife representation similar to Southeast Asia. Here forests resound to the calls of gibbons, while partridges, scimitar-babblers, trogons, and cochoas hide in tall forests.

From Java we will fly across to Flores and cross Wallace’s Line again. Exploring mountain and lowland forest, we will search for such gems as Bare-throated Whistler, White-rumped Kingfisher, and Ornate Pitta to mention a few. As a finale to the main tour we will spend a day exploring Komodo Island. Here we can spend the coolest part of the day enjoying an encounter with the remarkable Komodo Dragon, easily the world’s largest lizard. There are plenty of interesting birds to attract us here including the rare Yellow-crested Cockatoo. We will fly onward to Bali where the main tour concludes.

On an optional extension to the lovely island of Bali we will search for the beautiful and very rare Bali Myna and other special birds.

Good to excellent accommodation; easy terrain trail and roadside birding (although some optional uphill forest hiking in Java); tasty fresh cooked food; some good wildlife photographic opportunities, especially in Tangkoko, Carita, and Komodo; down time in the middle of the day where possible; hot and humid in the lowlands to cool and pleasantly fresh in the mountains, reaching an altitude of 7,000 feet on occasions.

Komodo Dragon © KjerstiJoergensen/Shutterstock