What about Papua (formerly known as Irian Jaya) would not intrigue? The diversity in lifestyle and culture of the indigenous people, who speak more than 250 languages, is matched only by Papua’s biodiversity and geography. The terrain covering half of New Guinea, the planet’s second-largest island, ranges from the misty peak of Puncak Jaya (5050m) - which features permanent snowfields and small glaciers - to the steamy island groups of Biak and Raja Ampat, just shy of the equator. Endemic wildlife gracing this vast expanse of jungle, mountain, swamp and sea include such weird and wonderful creatures as cassowaries, dugongs, showy cenderawasih (birds of paradise), egg-laying echidnas and tree-dwelling monitor lizards.

Though much of the region is covered by impenetrable jungle, most inhabitants live in and around coastal towns. Almost all visitors head to the Baliem Valley, home to some of the most remarkable traditional cultures on earth, while others are drawn to the art of the Asmat region, or the bird life and coral reefs of the northern coast and islands.

IRIAN JAYA THEN PAPUA
When the Portuguese first sighted the island now shared by Papua and Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 1511 they called it Ilhas dos Papuas (Island of the Fuzzy Hairs), from the Malay word papuwah.
Later, Dutch explorers called the island New Guinea, because the black-skinned people reminded them of the inhabitants of Guinea in Africa - and named the western half Dutch New Guinea. When sovereignty was transferred to Indonesia, the province was renamed Irian Barat (West Irian) and then Irian Jaya; jaya means ‘victorious’ in Bahasa Indonesia and irian means ‘hot land rising from the sea’ in the Biak language. To placate the growing separatist movement, the Indonesian government agreed to rename the province Papua on 26 December 2001. Many Papuan activists, and some international nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), refer to it as West Papua. And at this time, Papua was divided into two provinces: Papua and Papua Barat.

HISTORY
Dutch Rule
In 1660 the Dutch recognised the Sultan of Tidore’s sovereignty over New Guinea island and, because the Dutch held power over Tidore (the Sultan’s territory), New Guinea theoretically became Dutch. The British unsuccessfully attempted to establish a settlement near Manokwari in 1793, but by 1824 Britain and the Netherlands agreed that the western half, Dutch New Guinea, would become part of the Dutch East Indies.

In 1828 the Dutch established a token settlement in Lobo (near Kaimana) but it also failed miserably. About 27 years later the first missionaries, Germans, established a settlement on an island near Manokwari. The Dutch didn’t try to develop the province again until 1896, when settlements were set up in Manokwari and Fak-Fak in response to perceived Australian ownership claims from the eastern half of New Guinea island. The province continued to be virtually ignored, except by mining companies from the USA and Japan, which explored the rich oil reserves during the 1930s.

WWII
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Dutch declared war on Japan, so the province, as part of the Dutch East Indies, inevitably assumed importance in the battle for the Pacific. (Some Indonesians welcomed the Japanese as Asian liberators who would eradicate the hated Dutch colonialists.)

In early 1944 a four-phase push, led by US army general Douglas MacArthur, was launched from what is now Papua New Guinea (PNG) to liberate Dutch New Guinea from Japanese occupation. The Allies were far from optimistic: this part of the world was almost completely undeveloped, inhospitable and unchartered.

Phase one, the capture of Hollandia (Jayapura), was the largest amphibious operation of the war in the southwestern Pacific and involved 80,000 Allied troops. (Numerous WWII monuments and relics in and around Jayapura are testament to this event.) The second phase, to capture Sarmi, saw strong resistance from the Japanese. The third phase was the capture of Pulau Biak (primarily to control the air-field) and nearby Pulau Numfor, on the way to Sorong. Several hard battles were fought on Biak, exacerbated by Allied intelligence severely underestimating the Japanese strength. The fourth and final phase was the successful push to the Japanese air bases on Pulau Morotai, off northern Hal- mahera, and then towards the Philippines.

Along the south coast, the Allies fought for control of Merauke because of fears that it would be used as a base for Japanese air attacks against Australia.

Indonesia Takes Over
In 1945 the Dutch wrenched back the territory from the Japanese and used it as a place of exile. The infamous Boven Digul camp (in Tanahmerah) was established as a prison for Indonesian nationalists.

Following international pressure, the Dutch were forced to withdraw from the Dutch East Indies (which became Indonesia) after WWII, but still clung to Dutch New Guinea. In an attempt to stop Indonesia from gaining control, the Dutch encouraged Papuan nationalism and began building schools and colleges to train Papuans in professional skills, with the aim of preparing them for self-rule by 1970.

Following WWII most Indonesian political factions claimed that Dutch New Guinea, like the rest of the former Dutch East Indies, should be part of Indonesia. Throughout 1962 Indonesian forces infiltrated the province, but with little success. The Papuan population failed to welcome the Indonesians as liberators and either attacked them or handed them over to the Dutch. However, US pressure eventually forced the Dutch to capitulate abruptly in August 1962.

An agreement in that year, under UN auspices, required that Indonesia allow the Papuans to determine, by the end of 1969, whether they wanted independence or to remain within the Indonesian republic. So in 1969 an ‘Act of Free Choice’ was ‘supervised’ by the UN. The Indonesian government, however, suddenly declared that it would use the procedure of musyawarah, by which a consensus of ‘elders’ would be reached.

In July 1969 the Indonesian government announced that the assemblies in the Merauke, Jayawijaya and Paniai districts had unanimously decided to become part of Indonesia. And West Irian, as it was then known, became Indonesia’s 26th province.

CLIMATE

Generally the best (driest) time to visit Papua is between May and October, though it can - and does - often rain anywhere, anytime. (Rain falls in Kota Biak about 25 days a month.) Strong wind and rain are more common along the north coast from November to March. Along the south coast, however, it can get quite wet and windy from April to October - but this is the dry season in Merauke, the only part of Papua with distinct seasons. The best time to visit the Baliem Valley is between March and August when the days are drier and cooler, though nights are usually cold year-round. Coastal towns are generally hot and humid, while it’s often cooler in the highlands

WILDLIFE
About 75% of Papua is forest, so it’s no surprise that its flora is as varied as its geography. The usual lush collection of Asiatic species lie in the transition zone between Asia and Australia, postulated as the Wallace Line. The south coast’@?
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Animals are largely confined to marsu pials, such as bandicoots, ring-tailed possums, pygmy flying phalangers, large cuscuses, tree kangaroos and wallabies. Reptiles include snakes both poisonous and not, crocodiles and frill-necked lizards. Papua is also home to about 800 species of spiders, 200 types of frogs and 30,000 kinds of beetles, while Pegunungan Arfak is renowned for its colourful butterflies.

Despite large-scale plunder, Papua’s exquisite bird life is still a popular attraction for serious twitchers. Among the province’s 600 species are thriving populations of cassowaries, bowerbirds, cockatoos, parrots, kingfishers and crowned pigeons. The acclaimed and elusive cenderawasih inhabit parts of Kepala Burung and Pulau Yapen.

CULTURE
The interior is predominantly populated by indigenous Papuans, while coastal towns are inhabited by descendants of inter marriages between Papuans and Melanesians and Indonesians, as well as transmigrants from western Indonesia.

Dani from the Baliem Valley live in compounds of huts made from trees and mud, raising their precious pigs. They still often use stone implements to farm their dietary/agricultural staple, the sweet potato.

Less accessible are the Manikom and Hatam people who live near the Anggi Lakes, and the Kanum and Marind near Merauke. Other inhabitants of the southeast are the Asmat people, who are renowned for their carvings. Further inland from the Asmat region, the Kombai and Korowai live in truly extraordinary tree houses, sometimes up to dozens of meters above ground, to avoid tides, wild animals and tribal invasion. Incredibly, the Indonesian media reported in mid-1998 that two ‘new tribes’ that use sign language to com- municate had been ‘found’ in very remote parts of the interior.

Churches of all denominations are found throughout Papua, but (despite claims by fervent missionaries) indigenous people enjoy a combination of traditional beliefs and Christianity. Officially, 99% of the Papuan population is Christian, but this seems difficult to believe given the number of transmigrants from Muslim dominated Java and Sulawesi.

Estimates of the number of languages spoken in Papua range from 200 to over 700 (there has been very little study about the linguistics of the province). There is no doubt though, that Papua and neighbouring PNG, with a combined population of only a few million, speak an inordinately high percentage of the world’s languages. Sadly, some of these languages are slowly and permanently disappearing.

VISIT TO PAPUA

To visit Papua able to fly to Sentani airport of Jayapura District via Biak and / or Makassar (Sulawesi) to continue the trip overland to the city of Jayapura and the surrounding areas, for connections to other areas such as the Baliem Valley Wamena, Merauke, Asmat, Boven Digul and others, still must continue the journey by airplane. But there are some other interesting ways to go to Papua, among others, you can fly to Port Moresby (the capital of PNG), and continues to Vanimo before chartering a boat or on foot across to Jayapura; the ships Pelni to Merauke and Timika or fly to Jayapura; the ships or aircraft between Sorong or Fak - Fak and Indonesian islands other; or take a boat and / or aircraft along the coast north to Jayapura, stopped in Manokwari, Biak, Nabire and / or Serui.

Between Sentani (Jayapura) and Wamena, planes are also operated by the cargo carrier Trigana Air Service (Wamena airport terminal, Sentani airport terminal), Protestant-run Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF; Wamena; Jl Gatot Subroto; Sentani; Jl Misi Sentani) and the Indonesian army. The MAF and the Catholic-run Associated Mission Aviation (AMA; Jl Misi Sentani, Sentani) also fly from Sentani (Jayapura) and/or Wamena to a dozen or more remote villages in the central and western highlands. These organisations sometimes accept tourists, but their primary concern is missionary business. You can also often charter their planes at exorbitant rates. Make sure you book at least one week in advance. Airfast planes, based in Jakarta, can also be chartered to/from Timika.

Travelling around Papua by boat will take some time as well as planning. Five big PELNI liners (White Big Boats line)- the Dempo, Dobonsolo, Labobar, Doro Londa and Nggapulu - stop at major towns along the north coast every two weeks, The Sangiang plies the south coast every two weeks.  The Transport chapter has more information about Pelni schedules, while the relevant sections later in this chapter list some fares for major routes.

The next best option is a Perintis boat along either coast, but they are less comfortable and slower than Pelni liners. Many other basic boats sail along certain smaller sections of both coasts, and as far inland as
the enormous rivers will allow.