Best things to do in Kalimantan
This vast, wild territory used to be known for its headhunters. Today orangutans head the list of attractions. Here are the best things to do in Kalimantan.
#1 See orangutans at Tanjung Puting National Park
At orangutan rehabilitation centres across Kalimantan, the race is on to protect the apes’ habitat from deforestation and to educate the community. Orangutans have grabbed world headlines not only for their endangered status but also because their numbers have dropped dramatically over the last few decades. The best-known centre is Camp Leakey in Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan.
The centre's job is to teach the orangutans basic skills so they can survive in their jungle habitats, and to release them back into the wild. Whether or not orangutan rehabilitation programmes are successful is debatable, but through their work they attract global attention to the problem, thereby forcing state and local officials to take action. Nowadays, in addition to orangutans, most centres focus on protecting remaining forests and replanting which, in turn, helps to secure the futures of hundreds of other species that play vital roles in forest ecosystems.
#2 Cruise the Mahakam River
The most popular way to reach Dayak country is by houseboat up the Mahakam River. The main destinations of nearly all Mahakam cruises are Tenggarong, Muara Muntai, Danau Jempang, Tanjung Isuy, Mancong and the Melak area (Eheng and Kersik National Park). Nowadays houseboats cannot travel further upriver than Tering in mid-Mahakam. One Samarinda tour operator, De’gigant Tours, includes Muara Pahu in its cruises due to the excellent wildlife spotting on the Bolongan River, with freshwater dolphins as the highlight.
Stops at Dayak villages and watching life along the river are also attractions, as well as the changes of the river from vast and wide to narrow channels, while small hinterland villages are replaced by towns, and rather solitary travel becomes crowded with ships of all sizes getting ready to haul cargo through the Makassar Strait.