INDONESIA EXPLORER

You touch down in Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java. Here you’ll be staying in a luxury resort surrounded by verdant teak plantations and outstanding views of Mount Merapi and Menoreh Hill.

You’re ideally located to tour the temple complex of Borobudur – built between the 7th and 8th centuries – and Prambanan Temple, the largest Hindu shrine dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. The extent and beauty of these two temple complexes will give you an introduction to the local history and culture, which will be completed with a trip to a traditional Javanese village to discover its customs, lifestyles, arts and handicrafts. You’ll also take a tour to the Dieng Plateau with its bubbling craters and beautiful lake.

Stay: Three nights in an Executive Pool Villa at The Plataran Borobudur – including breakfast

Today you board a flight to Pangkalan Bun in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. You’ll be transferred to the jetty where you’ll board your private houseboat and home for the next two nights.

Here, amongst the lush mangrove swamps, tropical peat and heath forests of Tanjung Puting National Park, you’ll get to encounter an astonishing array of flora and fauna. The jungles of this vast sanctuary are home to 75% of the world’s wild orangutans as well as wild boars, proboscis monkeys, macaques, gibbons, cloud leopards and crocodiles. As you drift along the park’s waterways you should also keep your eyes peeled for rare and colourful birds such as sunbirds, cockatoos and hornbills.

As well as spotting these fascinating creatures in the wild, you’ll also have the opportunity to meet juvenile orangutans at Pondok Tanggui Rehabilitation Centre. Being able to watch these endangered primates at feeding time is one of the big highlights of your holiday.

Stay: Three nights on board the Super Deluxe Klotok Houseboat – including all meals

Fly from Pangkalan Bun to Surabaya and you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the trading history and culture of Indonesia’s second largest city. You’ll be staying within easy reach of Surabaya’s old quarter, ancient Chinese temples, spice market, Arab quarter and Moroccan open-air bazaars.

Stay: One night in a Heritage Suite at Majapahit Hotel – including breakfast

A three-hour drive through the Javanese countryside brings you to the Mount Bromo region and your next stopping point. As well as 360 degree views across the mountainous landscapes, Jiwa Jawa is perfectly located for experiencing all Mount Bromo and its surroundings have to offer. Enjoy trekking through Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, across the sand sea to see the sunrise at Mount Bromo’s crater rim.

Stay: Two nights in a Bromo Junior Suite at Jiwa Jawa – including breakfast

Today you’ll board a train to the Ijen Plateau, an unspoilt area in Eastern Java carpeted with coffee plantations. The region is most famous however for the Ijen Volcano, with its kilometre-wide turquoise-coloured sulphur lake surrounded by the sheer walls of the volcano’s crater. Enjoy a sunrise trek to the crater for a chance to experience its unique, otherworldly beauty.

Stay: Two nights in a Suite at The Jiwa Jawa Ijen Resort – including breakfast

After the dramatic landscapes of Ijen, a short drive and ferry ride brings you over to the mainland in West Bali, from where you will be met and transferred to Ubud.

Set off after breakfast the next day on a full tour exploring Bali’s scenic interior. Drive along small winding roads and up into the hills, prepare to enjoy fantastic panoramas over the lush rice fields and landscapes.

Stop at the town of Tampaksiring and visit Gunung Kawi – 11th-century temples with 10 rock-cut Candi (shrines) carved into the cliff face. Take a closer look at the shrines while your guide explains their Buddhist and Hindu attributes. Continue along these scenic countryside roads to Tirta Empul, a sacred water temple where local devotees come to be ‘cleansed’ in the temple’s pools.

Around midday you’ll arrive in Kintamani, a volcanic region home to majestic Mount Batur. Inside the caldera of the once giant Batur Volcano is a calm, clear lake in which a new, active volcanic cone was formed. After lunch at a nearby restaurant, your tour continues to Penglipuran, a traditional countryside village with typical Balinese entrance gates. Then it is on to the last stop: the sacred Kehen Temple. Explore the site’s eight terraces, its massive Banyan tree, and detailed religious inscriptions, gaining insight into the Hindu faith of the deeply spiritual Balinese people as you go.

Stay: Three nights in a One Bedroom Club Suite at Tanah Gajah – including breakfast

Your Indonesian adventure comes to an end. From Ubud you’ll board a flight back home.