off the beaten track Indonesia

Bukit Lawang The small town of Bukit Lawang is the main jumping-off point for nearby Gunung Leuser National Park. Located in north, central Sumatra, the park, along with  Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parks – forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage designated Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.,  The former alone covers an area of 8,000 square kilometres…

Dieng Plateau There must be days when the sun shines and skies are blue. (we’ve seen the photos in the tourist brochures), but it’s somehow hard to imagine Java’s remote Dieng Plateau without its characteristic swirling mists, dark pine forests and brooding, terrace-covered hills. The lush valleys, cascading rice terraces and villages clinging Provence-style to rugged hillsides would certainly look…

Malang’s Rainbow Village Just a few years ago Malang’s Rainbow Village, or Jodipan district, was an embarrassing eyesore for city authorities and an unsanitary, squalid slum for residents. This old favella-style quarter of crumbling houses built almost one on top of another along the banks of the Brantas River in the heart of the city was considered a lost cause…