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K a l i m a n t a n POP 12,223,300 / AREA 558,266 SQ KM

Why Go? . . . . . 243 With its dense jungles, hothouse and indigenous peoples, is as mysterious as it is vast, covering National Park ...... 246 some two thirds of and 30% of ’s total land Palangka Raya . . . . . 249 mass. But for the rivers that dissect its terrain of swampland and forest it would be almost impassable, and though de- Banjarmasin ...... 252 cent air links and roads connect major cities, the best way to Loksado ...... 257 experience it really is by boat. Dramatically less developed ...... 259 than neighbouring Sabah and Brunei, its dark forests con- ...... 264 tinue to reveal previously undiscovered mammals. National Park . .268 Formerly head-hunting country, this is a land of long- houses and superstitious Dayak villages where, despite Sungai Mahakam . . . 269 incursions of 21st-century technology, the drum-roll of the Berau ...... 273 shaman eff ortlessly coalesces with the trill of mobile phones. Pulau Derawan ...... 276 Given Kalimantan’s ongoing environmental struggles, there Tarakan ...... 277 has never been a more vital time to visit.

Best Places to Eat When to Go » Pranaban Fish Restaurant February to April and August to September are great months (p 244 ) to search for sweet-toothed wild in places like , when the forests are in bloom with » Depot Kalimantan (p 254 ) fl owers and fruit. These months also represent the dry sea- » Ocean’s Resto (p 261 ) son, so there’re slower rivers, less rainfall and fewer leeches! » Bakso Surabaya (p 266 ) In the last week of September, the Erau Festival sees thousands of Dayaks from all over Kalimantan converging Best Places to on Tenggarong in a whirl of tribal costumes, ceremony and Stay dance. » Nabucco Island Resort (see the boxed text, p277 ) » Rimba Lodge (p 248 ) » Hotel Gran Senyiur (p260 ) Kota 241 Kinabalu Sandakan

SABAH BANDAR SERI S O U T H BEGAWAN Sebuku C H I N A Sembakung Pulau S E A BRUNEI National Bunguran Park Tawau (Natuna Besar) Nunukan s Long Pulau Bawan Lagong Sea Tarakan Pulau MALAYSIA Kayan Mentarang Tanjung KALIMANTAN Subi Besar National Park Selor Tanjung n Teluk Sibu SARAWAK a Batu Datu Apokayan Highland y Sungai Ka Berau Pulau Danau Betung Derawan & Sentarum Kerihun Long Kuching Nawang Sangalaki National Park National Park Archipelago Sambas Sungai Muara

Tebedu Wahau Putussibau Nahabuan Singkawang M Sun Kutai Sangkulirang Entikong Long a Kapuas Long Pahangai h gai National Bagun ak Belay Mempawah Park Sangatta Datah Bilang am Sanggau Sungai an Pontianak Sintang Sungai Mahakam Equator Long Iram Tering Nanga Pinoh Kersik Luwai Melak Tenggarong Bukit Raya Orchid Reserve Bukit Baka (2278m) Samarinda Pulau Gunung Palung (1617m) Mancong Tanjung Padangtikar National Park TewahSu Muara Isuy Pulau Bukit Baka– ngai Teweh Balikpapan Maya Gunung Palung Bukit Raya

arito Panajam

Teluk (1116m) National Park B K

Sukadana Kasongan ah Pulau Ketapang Tanahgrogot ayan Karimata Palangka Raya Makassar

Sebangau Sungai Amuntai Riam National Park Negara Barabai Pegunungan Loksado Selat Sukamara Pangkalan Sampit Kandangan Bun Meratus Kuala Kapuas Tanjung Puting Banjarmasin Kota Baru National Park Martapura Banjarbaru Pulau Cempaka Sebuku Pulau SULAWESI Laut

J A V A S E A 0200 km 0 100 miles

Kalimantan Highlights 1 Close encounters with 3 Travelling by boat up the 5 Exploring the wonders of orangutans in Tanjung Puting mighty Sungai Mahakam Kutai National Park while National Park (p246 ) (; p269 ) into tracking wild orangutans in 2 Trekking and rafting in Borneo’s heart of darkness thick jungle (p268 ) the Pegunungan Meratus 4 Snorkelling with giant 6 Catching a boat at dawn to (Meratus Mountains; p 257 ) green turtles and manta rays see the fl oating markets of off Pulau Derawan (p276 ) and Banjarmasin (p 253 ) the Sangalaki archipelago (p273 )