Summary
- Komodo Island is home to the largest living lizard on Earth, the Komodo dragon. It is a popular destination for scuba diving and has a population of approximately 1,800.
- Java is the most populous island in Indonesia, housing over half of the country's population. It is known for its ancient temples, including the largest Buddhist temple in the world.
- Borneo is the third-largest island globally and is shared by Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia. It is renowned for its lush rainforests and diverse wildlife, making it a top destination for eco-tours.
Indonesia is one of the countries with the most islands in the world; it is a massive island nation (with the fourth-largest population after the United States). The country has some of the largest islands on earth (although some of them are shared with other countries).
Only a few of its islands (such as Bali, which is famous for its beaches) are popular tourist destinations leaving most of the country rarely visited by tourists. Here are some of the best Indonesian islands to visit across the vast archipelago.
10 Komodo Island
Komodo Island is a small island famous for being the home of the Komodo dragon - the largest living lizard on Earth. It is an example of evolutionary island gigantism (where isolated species can get very large).
Komodo Island is also one of the best islands in Indonesia to visit as a diver; it is a very popular destination for scuba - but the Komodo dragon is easily the top attraction.
- Population: Approx. 1,800
- Size: 150 sq miles or 291 sq km
9 Java
Java is home to over half (around 56%) of the population of Indonesia and its main city, Jakarta, is one of the largest in the world. It was the center of powerful Hindu and Buddhist Empires, and there are many ancient temples to discover.
Take the time to see the largest Buddhist temple in the world in Java.
- Population: Over 150 million
- Size: 53,000 sq miles or 139,000 sq km
8 Sumatra
Sumatra is the massive long island of Indonesia stretching close to Singapore. It is the largest fully Indonesian island and is famous for its wildlife (some of which is endangered).
The island was once covered by lush tropical rainforests, although much of the island is now deforested. Notable wildlife include the Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran elephant, the Sumatran orangutan, and the Sumatran rhino.
- Population: 60 million
- Size: 182,000 sq miles or 475,000 sq km
7 Borneo
Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and is home to three countries - Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia (around 73% of the island belongs to Indonesia).
Much of the island remains covered in lush tropical rainforests, and it is a top destination for eco-tours to see the orangutans, Borneo elephants, and other tropical rainforest wildlife.
- Population: 22 million (total population)
- Size: 289,000 sq miles or 748,000 sq km
6 Bali
Bali is by far the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia - so much so that most people say they are going to 'Bali' and not say they are going to 'Indonesia'.
It is a Hindu-majority island (most of Indonesia is Muslim-majority). It is famous for its pristine beaches and enjoys a very developed tourism industry.
- Population: 4.4 million
- Size: 2,200 sq miles or 5,800 sq km
5 Lombok
Lombok is another island popular for tourism. It is separated from Bali by the Lombok Strait and shares a number of similarities with Bali (such as cultural heritage).
But its wildlife is also different as the Lombok Strait is part of the Wallace Line that has proved a barrier to the migration of species from Asia.
- Population: 3.9 million
- Size: 1,800 sq miles or 4,700 sq km
4 Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the most distinctively shaped islands in the world. It is the eleventh-largest island in the world and has four massive peninsulas.
Sulawesi is easily one of the most beautiful islands in Indonesia to visit, and it offers the chance to get away from the large tourist crowds of Bali (and, to a lesser degree, Lombok) and explore a destination not spoiled by tourists.
- Population: 20 million
- Size: 72,000 sq miles or 186,000 sq km
3 Flores
Flores is best known for the 'Hobbit' scientifically Homo floresiensis - a diminutive species of archaic human. When the species was first discovered, it was a matter of contention whether the bones represented a strange new species or were an example of a diseased human.
New discoveries have shown it to be a new species of human 1.1 meters tall (3.7 feet). Flores is not popular for tourism but is a great place to visit to discover a different side of Indonesia.
- Population: 1.9 million
- Size: 6,000 sq mile or 15,500 sq km
2 Timor
The island of Timor is best known for the independent country of East Timor on the eastern side of the island.
West Timor (the Indonesian part of the island) is another destination that very few international travelers bother to see. Explore both the East Timor and Indonesian side of the island while there.
- Population: 3.3 million (total)
- Size: 12,000 sq miles or 31,000 sq km
1 New Guinea
New Guinea is one of the most challenging places to visit (and one of the most unique destinations). It is the second-largest island in the world and one of divided into the independent country of Papua New Guinea in the west and the Indonesian west.
It has extremely poor infrastructure but is incredibly diverse - Papua New Guinea has the most languages of any nation on earth.
- Population: 15 million
- Size: 303,000 sq miles or 785,000 sq km