🇮🇩 Natural wonders of Indonesia

The world's largest archipelago and its most volcanically active country — thousands of islands strung along the Ring of Fire, from the smoking cone of Bromo to the dragons and reefs of Komodo.

🗓️ Best time for nature: The dry season (roughly April–October) for clear volcano sunrises and the best diving conditions; check volcanic-activity status before visiting active peaks.

Southeast Asia 6 wonders in the atlas Best places to visit in Indonesia

The lay of the land

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.

Where to begin

  1. Mount Bromo

    A smoking volcano rising from an ash-plain caldera, famed for its sunrise.

    Volcano · East Java, Indonesia

  2. Komodo National Park

    Home of the giant Komodo dragon and world-class Coral Triangle reefs.

    Marine sanctuary · Lesser Sunda Islands, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

  3. Kawah Ijen

    Electric-blue flames and the world's largest acidic crater lake in East Java.

    Volcano · East Java, Indonesia

  4. Kelimutu

    Three summit crater lakes on Flores that change colour independently.

    Lake · Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

A taste of the place

Indonesian cuisine is vast and regional — nasi goreng (fried rice), satay, rich rendang, fiery sambals, and fresh seafood across the islands — reflecting a crossroads of cultures and spices.

Traveling responsibly

  • For volcano sunrises, go in the dry season and check alert levels.
  • Visit Komodo dragons only with park rangers — they are dangerous.
  • Use reef-safe sunscreen and dive with current-savvy operators.

Indonesia is the largest archipelago on Earth and its most volcanically active country, its 17,000 islands strung along the Ring of Fire. In East Java, Mount Bromo smokes from within a giant caldera, delivering one of the world’s great sunrises. Far to the east, Komodo National Park guards the last wild Komodo dragons above water and some of the Coral Triangle’s richest reefs below. This atlas begins Indonesia’s chapter with those two — a living volcano and an island of dragons and coral — with much more of its immense natural range to come.

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All wonders in Indonesia

6 places

Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, Tabanan Regency, Bali, Indonesia

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
Kawah Ijen, East Java, Indonesia

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
Kelimutu, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

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

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
Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia

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

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