Indonesia has many tourism destinations. The destinations consist of beaches, sea, mountains, lakes, temples, and various local cultures. To accelerate the development of tourism, in mid 2016, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism launched a new program named "10 Priority Tourism Destinations (Indonesian: 10 Destinasi Wisata Prioritas)".
Let's see the list.
1. Tanjung Lesung
Tanjung Lesung Beach is famous for its beautiful natural scenery. Not only that, the white sand and the charming underwater scenery is also a tourist attraction to come. No wonder if this beach area in Banten became one of the priority destinations in the coming year. Moreover, infrastructure in the region has also undergone many improvements.
2. Wakatobi
Wakatobi is located in South East Sulawasi. Wakatobi is one of the best diving spots in Indonesia.
In Wakatobi there are 750 species from a total of 850 species of coral in the world. Nevertheless, Wakatobi still gets less visits when compared to other diving spots.
3. The Thousand Islands
The islands were figuratively called The Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu) because it has many islands. In reality, only 110 islands exist. Even then, only 36 islands are used for recreation. Of that, only 13 islands are fully developed: 11 islands are homes to resorts and two islands are historic parks. Twenty-three islands are privately owned and are not open to the public. The rest of the islands are either uninhabited or support a fishing village.
The Thousand Islands Marine National Park is located 45 km (28 mi) north of Jakarta. It is mostly located on the subdistrict of North Thousand Islands, which is the northern part of the Thousand Islands. The complex contains 342 reef platforms, with 110 forming an island larger than half an acre. There may be as many as 700 individual reefs in the complex.
4. Borobudur Temple
Borobudur is a Buddhist stupa and temple complex in Central Java, Indonesia dating from the 8th century. This is one of world's truly great ancient monuments, the single largest Buddhist structure anywhere on earth, and few who visit fail to be taken by both the scale of place, and the remarkable attention to detail that went into the construction. Set as it is in the heart of the verdant Kedu Plain, the backdrop of mighty active volcanoes only enhances the sense of awe and drama.
Borobudur consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with no less than 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues of various types. The main dome, located at the centre of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupas.
5. Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park
This national park is named after its two mountains, Mount Semeru (the highest in Java at 3,676 m), Mount Bromo (the most popular) and the Tengger people who inhabit the area.
Mount Bromo, is an active volcano and part of the Tengger massif, in East Java, Indonesia. At 2,329 metres (7,641 ft) it is not the highest peak of the massif, but is the most well known. The massif area is one of the most visited tourist attractions in East Java, Indonesia. The volcano belongs to the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The name of Bromo derived from Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu creator god.
If a landscape was ever needed to demonstrate the meaning of the phrase desolate beauty, then this is surely it. Rugged, barren volcanic peaks, gravel plains and that sea of sand. Truly unworldly. The park also includes large areas which are very lush and green fed by rivers from the high tops. The medium elevations are clad with much thinner forest before this gives way to the barren plateau and peaks.
6. Lake Toba
Lake Toba is an immense volcanic lake covering an area of 1,707 km2 (1,000 km2 bigger than Singapore) with an island in the center. Formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption some 70,000 years ago, it is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. The island in the middle - Pulau Samosir - was joined to the caldera wall by a narrow isthmus, which was cut through to enable boats to pass; a road bridge crosses the cutting. Samosir island is the cultural centre of Batak tribe who are mostly Christians in the modern days.
7. Labuan Bajo
Labuan bajo is an ever-deserted port from tourist activity. From this region, tourists can visit many of the leading tourist destinations in NTT, such as Komodo Island, Rinca Island, and Pink Beach.
Komodo National Park lies in the Wallacea Region of Indonesia, identified by both the WWF and Conservation International as a global conservation priority area, and is located in the centre of the Indonesian archipelago, between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. Komodo National Park includes three major islands: Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller islands.
The most famous of Komodo National Park's animals is the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis). It is the world's largest living lizard and can reach 3m or more in length and weigh over 70kg. Other animals include the Timor deer, the main prey of the Komodo dragon, wild horses (kuda liar), water buffalo, wild boar (babi liar), long-tailed macaques, palm civets, the endemic Rinca rat (Tikus besar rinca), and fruit bats.
8. Morotai Island
Morotai Island is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is "Heaven in East Indonesia". Morotai Island has many interesting sides that can be enjoyed. The gentle beach with white sand and clear water tempts many people to swim.
9. Mandalika
West Nusa Tenggara is one of the leading tourist destinations in Indonesia. In the coming year Mandalika area in NTB become one of the priority of tourist visit. Mandalika Lombok as a nature reserve is one of the most unique places in the world. The local art and culture of Lombok become masters in their land to be enjoyed and learned by the tourists.
10. Tanjung Kelayang
Belitung is a place for many beautiful beaches. One of the charming beaches in Belitung is Tanjung Kelayang. White sandstone and rocky rocks make the beach has its own characteristics. Infrastructure development and coastal management are the focus of future improvement.
That's 10 priority tourism destinations in Indonesia that proclaimed in 2016. Remember to visit at least one of them while in Indonesia. In addition to various tourist destinations, Indonesia still has many other tourist destinations that are not less interesting to visit.
