– the expansive Indonesian part of Borneo – is an adventure in every sense of the word. Remote jungle, snaking rivers and interior mountains serve up endless opportunities for epic rainforest exploration, while its cities are low-key and little visited by Indonesian standards. You can travel here for weeks without meeting another foreigner, and at least some knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia is recommended.
Kalimantan’s natural resources have made it a prime target for exploitation and its once-abundant wildlife and rich traditional cultures are under threat. Protected areas mean this is still the best place in the world to see the noble orang-utan sharing the remaining jungle canopy with acrobatic gibbons and proboscis monkeys. The indigenous people, collectively known as Dayak, have long lived in concert with this rich, challenging landscape and their longhouses can still be found near Kalimantan’s many waterways, creating a sense of community unmatched elsewhere in the country.