Maluku Islands
Region and archipelago in eastern Indonesia
Also called the Moluccas, an archipelago in eastern Indonesia, lying tectonically on the Halmahera plate, in the Molucca Sea Collision Zone.
Photo: Lencer, CC BY-SA 3.0
ID · Curated travel guide
Indonesia: 10 places worth the journey
Maluku Islands, Borobudur, Prambanan and 7 more — what each one is, and why it is worth the detour.
- Places
- 10
- World Heritage
- 2
- Language
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Currency
- IDR
What to see in Indonesia
Chosen from everything Wikidata knows about Indonesia and ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions describe them, which is about as close to "famous" as open data gets. 2 are on UNESCO's World Heritage list.
Borobudur
9th-century Buddhist temple in Java, Indonesia
Also written Barabudur, a Mahayana Buddhist temple of the 9th century in Magelang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, near Muntilan town and northwest of Yogyakarta.
Photo: Heri nugroho, CC BY-SA 4.0
World Heritage
Prambanan
9th-century Hindu temple compound near Yogyakarta, Indonesia
A Hindu temple compound of the 9th century in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, southern Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimūrti, God as Creator (Brahma), Preserver (Vishnu) and Destroyer (Shiva). It lies about 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of Yogyakarta, on the border of Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces.
Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sunda Islands
Island group in the Malay Archipelago
The Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands together, the Nusantara of the Indonesian Archipelago.
Photo: Central Intelligence Agency, United States of America, Public domain
Mount Merapi
Active stratovolcano in Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Indonesia's most active volcano, a stratovolcano that has erupted again and again since 1548. It straddles the boundary of Central Java province with the Special Region of Yogyakarta.
Photo: Rosalia.silaban, CC BY-SA 4.0
Puncak Jaya
Highest mountain in Indonesia and Oceania
Also called Carstensz Pyramid, a peak on the island of New Guinea, 4,884 m (16,024 ft) high: the highest peak on any island, and the highest in Indonesia and in Oceania. It is in the Sudirman Range of the Mimika Regency highlands, in Central Papua, Indonesia.
Photo: Alfindra Primaldhi, CC BY 2.0
Mount Tambora
Active stratovolcano on Sumbawa, Indonesia
Also called Tomboro, an active stratovolcano on Sumbawa, in the Lesser Sunda Islands, in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia; its volcanism comes from subduction zones.
Photo: Jialiang Gao (peace-on-earth.org), CC BY-SA 3.0
World Heritage
Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra
UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sumatra, Indonesia
A UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2004, made up of three Indonesian national parks on Sumatra: Bukit Barisan Selatan, Kerinci Seblat and Gunung Leuser.
Photo: Dave59 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Mount Agung
Stratovolcano in Bali, Indonesia
A volcano, still active, in Bali's Karangasem Regency, Indonesia, lying to the southeast of Mount Batur, another of the island's volcanoes.
Photo: Michael W. Ishak ( www.myreefsdiary.com ), CC BY-SA 4.0
Semeru
Stratovolcano in Indonesia
Java's highest mountain, an active volcano in Indonesia's East Java province, in a subduction zone where the Indo-Australian Plate slides under the Eurasian Plate. Its peak is 3,676 m high, which makes it Indonesia's third-tallest volcano, after Rinjani and Kerinci.
Photo: Pambudiyoga, CC BY-SA 4.0
About Indonesia
Officially the Republic of Indonesia, a country of Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Pacific and Indian oceans. With 13,000 to 17,000 islands, among them Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi and parts of New Guinea and Borneo, it is the largest archipelagic state on Earth and 14th in the world by area. Its extensive tropical forests and marine ecosystems support one of the richest levels of biodiversity anywhere.
Officially The Republic of Indonesia.
Based on the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0: the facts are Wikipedia's, the wording is this site's.
Questions travellers ask
What is worth seeing in Indonesia?
This guide lists 10: Maluku Islands, Borobudur, Prambanan and Sunda Islands and others. Prambanan and Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
How were these places chosen?
By machine, from open data, with no human ranking them and nobody able to pay for a place on the list. Everything Wikidata records in Indonesia that is a building, a landform, a protected area or a tourist attraction, has coordinates, a photograph and an English Wikipedia article, is ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions wrote about it. Provinces, cities, airports, stations and stretches of sea shared with the neighbours are filtered out.
Which places here are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
2 of the 10 in this guide: Prambanan and Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra. That is not the full count for Indonesia, only the listed sites that made this guide.
What language is spoken in Indonesia, and what currency?
Bahasa Indonesia. The currency is IDR.
How do I get mobile data in Indonesia?
A travel eSIM is usually the cheapest way, and avoids a roaming bill. The plans suggested at the foot of this guide start at $1.79 for 1GB per day. The eSIM is data-only and sits alongside your normal SIM, so calls, texts and WhatsApp keep working on your own number.
Which networks would my phone use in Indonesia?
Telkomsel, XL and Smartfren. Your phone picks whichever has the best signal where you are, the same way a local phone does.
One practical note: staying online
Maps, tickets and translation all want data, and roaming is the expensive way to get it. A Computatus eSIM eSIM connects to Telkomsel, XL and Smartfren once you land, and installs by QR code before you leave.
See 25 Computatus eSIM plans for Indonesia from $1.79
| Plan | Data | Valid | Price | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1GB per day Cheapest | 1 GB | 1 day | $1.79 | Get it → |
| 1GB per day | 1 GB | 1 day | $1.88 | Get it → |
| 1GB for 7 days | 1 GB | 7 days | $2.04 | Get it → |
| 2GB per day | 2 GB | 1 day | $2.83 | Get it → |
| 2GB per day | 2 GB | 1 day | $2.86 | Get it → |
| 3GB for 15 days | 3 GB | 15 days | $3.04 | Get it → |
No app needed. Install by QR code before you fly, keep your own number for calls, and it connects the moment you land.
Telkomsel 5GXL 4GSmartfren 4G
A commission on plans bought through these links is what pays for this guide. Nothing above depends on it: the places are chosen before any price is looked up.