Things to Do in Indonesia

Pura Luhur Uluwatu stands on a limestone cliff about 70 metres above the sea at Bali's southern tip, and the reason to come late in the day is the sunset over the Indian Ocean. A kecak performance runs in the clifftop amphitheatre most evenings. Keep your bag closed, the resident macaques are quick. Around an hour by car from Kuta or Seminyak.

Borobudur is a 9th century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Central Java and the largest Buddhist temple in the world, built as nine stacked platforms carrying more than 2,600 relief panels and hundreds of Buddha statues. Sunrise entry is limited and sold separately. It is about an hour from Yogyakarta, which is where most people base themselves.

Best Time: May - September

The terraces north of Ubud are the picture most people have of Bali, cut into a steep valley and still watered by the subak system the island has used for a thousand years. Go early, before the coaches and the midday heat, and walk down into the valley rather than shooting from the road. About 30 minutes from central Ubud.

Komodo National Park is the only place on earth to see Komodo dragons in the wild, spread across Komodo, Rinca and the islands between them. Entry needs a park fee and a licensed ranger, and both the fees and the access rules have been changed and re-proposed several times in recent years, so confirm the current position when you book. Boats leave from Labuan Bajo on Flores and two to three days is the normal trip.

Best Time: September to November

Known For : Kelingking Beach Atuh Beach Diamond Beach

Nusa Penida is the rough, cliff edged island about 45 minutes by fast boat from Sanur, and the draw is the coastline: Kelingking, Broken Beach and Angel's Billabong on the west, Diamond Beach on the east. Roads are poor and the island is bigger than it looks, so pick one side per day or stay a night. Manta Bay is the snorkelling stop.

Best Time: May - September

27 Nusa Penida Attractions

Bromo sits inside the Tengger caldera in East Java, and the classic view is from the Penanjakan viewpoints across the sand sea just before dawn, with Semeru smoking behind it. Jeeps leave around 3am from Cemoro Lawang. Bromo is an active volcano and the crater rim closes when the alert level rises, so check before you travel. Most people come up from Malang or Surabaya.

Bali is where a lot of people learn to surf. Kuta, Legian and Canggu have gentle beach breaks and cheap board hire with instructors standing on the sand, while Uluwatu, Padang Padang and Bingin are reef breaks for people who already know what they are doing. The dry season from April to October brings the cleaner swell on the west coast.

Known For : Relax at the Beach in Gili Trawangan Snorkelling in Gili Trawangan Swim With Sea Turtles in Gili Trawangan

The Gilis sit off the northwest coast of Lombok and green turtles are common on the reef a short swim from the beach, which is why so many people snorkel here rather than dive. There are no cars or scooters on the island, only bicycles and pony carts. Fast boats run from Bali and Lombok, and the crossing can be rough in the wet season.

Best Time: May - September

16 Gili Trawangan Attractions

The kecak uses no instruments at all, just a large male chorus chanting chak in interlocking rhythm around a fire while the Ramayana is acted out inside the circle. The best known staging is the sunset show at Uluwatu, and there are regular performances in Ubud and at Tanah Lot. Tickets are sold at the gate and Uluwatu fills up, so arrive early.

Ijen is an acidic crater lake in East Java where burning sulphur gas throws off a blue flame that is only visible in the dark, so the hike starts around 1am. The same crater is worked by miners who carry slabs of sulphur out by hand in shoulder baskets, which is the part most people remember. A guide and a gas mask are required. Banyuwangi is the base.

Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia, a 9th century Shaivite complex of tall, narrow towers about 17 km outside Yogyakarta. The Ramayana ballet is staged in the open air here through the dry season. It pairs naturally with Borobudur and most people do both in one long day from Yogyakarta.

Indonesia sits inside the Coral Triangle, which holds the richest marine life on earth. Raja Ampat off West Papua has the highest recorded reef fish diversity anywhere and runs on an October to April season, the opposite of Bali. Komodo has the current and the mantas, Bunaken has the walls and Tulamben in Bali has the wreck. Pick the site first, then the month.

Known For : Borobudur Temple Kraton Palace Taman Sari

Yogyakarta is the cultural capital of Java, still part governed by its sultanate, and the kraton palace complex in the centre is open to visitors with gamelan and dance performances most mornings. The batik workshops in the surrounding streets are the other reason to stay. It is also the base for Borobudur, Prambanan and Merapi.

Best Time: July to October

18 Jogja Attractions

Batur is a short, steep volcano in northeast Bali and the standard trip leaves Ubud around 2am to reach the rim for first light over Lake Batur and Mount Abang. It takes about two hours up. Batur is active and the climb is suspended when the alert level rises, so check the status before you book and go with a licensed guide.

Bali is Hindu in a Muslim majority country, and its temples are the clearest expression of that. Tanah Lot sits on a rock in the sea and is best at sunset, Ulun Danu Beratan appears to float on a crater lake up in the cool highlands, and Tirta Empul is a working spring temple where Balinese families still queue to bathe. Sarongs are handed out at the gate.

Bukit Lawang sits on the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra and is one of the few places to see Sumatran orangutans in the forest rather than in an enclosure. Treks run with park guides for half a day or two days, and sightings are never guaranteed. Around four hours from Medan. Do not feed or touch the animals.

Padar is the island between Komodo and Rinca, and the short, steep climb from the jetty to the ridge gives the three bay view that most Komodo boat trips are really sold on. It is about 30 minutes up on exposed steps, so it is done at sunrise. Padar sits inside the national park, so the same fee and guide rules apply.

Lake Toba fills the crater left by one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the last 25 million years, and it is the biggest volcanic lake in the world, with Samosir Island sitting inside it. People come for the Batak villages, the cool air and a few slow days by the water. Around four to five hours by road from Medan.

Rinjani is Indonesia's second highest volcano and the two or three day trek to the crater rim and the Segara Anak lake is the hardest thing on this list. It runs with licensed guides and porters from Senaru or Sembalun. The route closes in the rainy season and after seismic activity, so confirm it is open before you fly.

Bunaken, off Manado in North Sulawesi, is built around steep coral walls that drop away a few metres from the shallows, which makes it one of the easiest places in Indonesia to see big reef life without a long boat ride. Turtles are common on almost every dive. Manado has direct domestic flights and the water is clearest from March to September.

The Ayung runs through a gorge north of Ubud and the standard run is about two hours of grade two and three water, gentle enough for families and first timers, past carved rock walls and small waterfalls. Operators include hotel pickup and lunch. Levels are higher and the run faster in the wet season from November to March.

Indonesian food is regional rather than national. Nasi goreng and satay are everywhere, but Java has gudeg and soto, Sumatra has Padang food served as a spread of small dishes, and Bali has babi guling and bebek betutu. Eat in warungs, the small family run canteens, and take a cooking class in Ubud if you want to make it at home.

Kota Tua is the Dutch colonial core of Jakarta, a square of restored eighteenth century buildings now holding the Jakarta History Museum, the Wayang puppet museum and Cafe Batavia. It is walkable and best in the morning before the heat. Most travellers only change planes in Jakarta, but this is the part worth stopping for.

With a coastline this long the beaches are not one thing. Bali's south coast is developed and easy to reach, Nusa Penida and Lombok are wilder and need a car, and the Gilis and Karimunjawa are for snorkelling. Our full beach list sets out which one suits which kind of trip, and which side of each island is sheltered in which season.

Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands and domestic flights are cheap, so the sensible trip is two islands rather than one. Bali with Lombok and the Gilis is the easy pairing, Bali with Java adds Borobudur and Bromo, and Bali with Flores gets you Komodo. Ferries are slow and weather dependent, so fly the long legs.

Kelimutu has three crater lakes on one volcano that hold different colours, from turquoise to near black, and the colours shift over the years as the mineral chemistry changes. The walk up to the viewpoint is short and done at dawn from Moni village. It is a long drive east from Labuan Bajo, so it suits a longer Flores trip rather than a day out.

Merapi is the most active volcano in Java and sits just north of Yogyakarta. Jeep tours run over the lava fields on the lower slopes, past a village museum left exactly as the 2010 eruption found it. The summit is not open to visitors and the lower routes close when the alert level rises. Half a day from Yogyakarta.

Wakatobi is a marine national park off southeast Sulawesi with reef walls, very little boat traffic and none of the crowds, which is why divers rate it alongside Raja Ampat and Bunaken. Getting there means a flight to Wangi-Wangi and then a boat, so it is worth a week rather than a stop. Conditions are best from March to November.

Dieng is a high volcanic plateau in Central Java holding the oldest Hindu temples on the island, small eighth century Shiva shrines standing alone in open fields. There are sulphur craters, a coloured lake and a sunrise viewpoint at Sikunir. At over 2,000 metres it is genuinely cold, which catches people out. About three hours from Yogyakarta.

Best Time: June to August

Private pool villas are the reason a lot of couples pick Bali over other beach destinations, and they cost far less than the equivalent closer to home. Ubud villas look over the valley and are quiet, while Seminyak and Canggu put you within walking distance of the beach clubs. Rates drop noticeably outside July, August and December.

A Balinese massage combines acupressure, stretching and long strokes, and it is cheap enough here that most people have several over a week. Ubud has the destination spas and the yoga schools, Seminyak and Nusa Dua have the hotel spas, and small neighbourhood places charge a fraction of both. Book ahead in Ubud in high season.

Ubud Art Market and the bigger Sukawati market sell woodcarving, batik, baskets and silver, and Celuk village nearby is where much of the silver is actually made. Opening prices for visitors are high, so bargaining is expected and nobody minds. Go in the morning, before the tour groups arrive and the heat sets in.

Bali's nightlife splits by area. Seminyak and Canggu have the beach clubs and the sunset sessions, Kuta is louder and cheaper, and Ubud closes early and is not the place for it. Most beach clubs work on a minimum spend rather than a door charge. Sunday sessions are the big ones and need booking in high season.

Kopi luwak is coffee made from beans passed through a civet, and it is sold on nearly every Bali tour route. Know what you are buying. Most commercial production now keeps civets in small cages and force feeds them coffee cherries, and wild sourced labels are frequently false. The plantation tours are pleasant enough, but ordinary Balinese arabica is worth more of your attention.