Natural Wonders of Indonesia: The 6 Most Beautiful Places to Visit

Indonesia sprawls across some 17,000 islands on the Pacific Ring of Fire, giving it more active volcanoes than any nation on Earth. In East Java, Mount Bromo smokes within a vast caldera 'Sea of Sand'. To the east, in the Lesser Sundas, Komodo National Park shelters the Komodo dragon — the largest lizard on the planet — above water and, below, some of the richest reefs in the Coral Triangle. Rainforests, coral seas, and volcanic peaks make Indonesia one of the most biodiverse countries in existence. Below are the 6 natural wonders of Indonesia in the atlas — the most beautiful places to build a trip around, each with what makes it remarkable, when to go, and how to reach it. Best overall time: The dry season (roughly April–October) for clear volcano sunrises and the best diving conditions; check volcanic-activity status before visiting active peaks.

Kawah Ijen

East Java, Indonesia

A volcano famous for two rare sights: electric-blue flames that flicker across its crater in the dark as sulphurous gas ignites, and the world's largest highly acidic crater lake — a vast turquoise pool with the acidity of battery acid.

Volcano Southeast Asia

Mount Bromo

East Java, Indonesia

A smoking volcanic cone rising from a vast 'Sea of Sand' inside an ancient caldera — one of Earth's most dramatic sunrise views, ringed by the peaks of the Tengger massif in East Java.

Volcano Southeast Asia

Raja Ampat

West Papua, Indonesia

An archipelago of jungle-clad karst islands scattered across turquoise seas — the most biodiverse marine environment on Earth, at the very heart of the Coral Triangle.

Marine sanctuary Southeast Asia

Jatiluwih Rice Terraces

Tabanan Regency, Bali, Indonesia

Bali's largest surviving expanse of traditional rice terraces, spread over some 600 hectares beneath Mount Batukaru and irrigated by subak — a thousand-year-old system in which farmers themselves allocate every litre of water down the slope.

Living terraces Southeast Asia

Kelimutu

Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

A volcano on the island of Flores crowned by three crater lakes that change colour independently and unpredictably — turquoise, green, black, brown, or red — each tied in local belief to the resting place of departed souls.

Lake Southeast Asia

Komodo National Park

Lesser Sunda Islands, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

A cluster of rugged islands that shelter the Komodo dragon — the largest lizard on Earth — above water, and some of the world's richest coral reefs below, including a beach tinted pink by red coral.

Marine sanctuary Southeast Asia