Kalimantan

Kalimantan is the Indonesian portion of Borneo, the world's third-largest island, covering roughly 580,000 km² — about three-quarters of the island — yet home to only around 16 million people. As a geographical unit it groups five provinces: West, Central, South, East, and North Kalimantan. Most of the interior is sparsely populated, blanketed by some of the planet's oldest and most biodiverse rainforest, threaded by mighty rivers like the Kapuas, Mahakam, and Barito that have served as highways for centuries.

This is Indonesia at its wildest. The Bornean rainforest, an estimated 130 million years old, shelters the endangered Bornean orangutan, proboscis monkeys, clouded leopards, and thousands of plant species found nowhere else. Travellers come for jungle and rivers rather than beaches and temples — orangutan-watching cruises, Dayak longhouse villages, floating markets, and remote dive islands define the Kalimantan experience.

Kalimantan is also at a turning point. The Indonesian government is building Nusantara (IKN), a purpose-built new national capital in East Kalimantan, intended to relieve Jakarta — a vast construction project now open to limited tourism. For now, the region remains a destination for adventurous travellers willing to trade comfort for genuine wilderness.

Kalimantan straddles the equator and is hot and humid year-round, with temperatures between roughly 23 and 33°C. Rather than a clear dry/wet split, it has a lighter rainy period around March to May and a more intense one from November to January; the relatively drier months of June to September are generally the most comfortable for jungle travel and river cruises, with lower water levels easier for orangutan-spotting along the banks.

Rainfall is heavy but actually lower than in many neighbouring parts of Indonesia. Note that the dry months can bring haze from forest and peatland fires, occasionally severe enough to disrupt flights — most common from August to October in bad years. Festivals worth timing for: the Erau Festival in Tenggarong (East Kalimantan), a major Kutai cultural celebration usually held mid-year; the Cap Go Meh lantern and tatung procession in Singkawang, one of Indonesia's largest, marking the end of Chinese New Year (January–February); and Dayak harvest ceremonies after the rice season.

Kalimantan has no passenger railway, and distances are long, so flying is the practical way to move between provinces. Domestic airports connect the main cities: Supadio (PNK) at Pontianak, Syamsudin Noor (BDJ) near Banjarmasin, Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan (BPN) at Balikpapan, APT Pranoto (AAP) at Samarinda, and Juwata (TRK) at Tarakan, plus smaller fields at Pangkalan Bun (PKN) and Palangkaraya (PKY) that serve Java and the orangutan parks.

Within and between provinces, roads are improving but slow; intercity buses and shared cars (travel) connect hubs such as Banjarmasin to Banjarbaru (about 35 km) and on to Loksado. Rivers remain essential transport — the iconic klotok (covered wooden riverboats) carry travellers up the Sekonyer River into Tanjung Puting and along the Mahakam. For the Kapuas and other routes, ensure your boat is not overcrowded and life jackets are provided, as river-boat accidents do occur. In cities, Gojek and Grab operate in Pontianak, Banjarmasin, Balikpapan, and Samarinda. For interior journeys, an arranged tour is often the easiest — and sometimes only — option.

• Balikpapan — the oil-and-gas "Oil City," a comfortable, well-connected gateway to East Kalimantan.
• Banjarbaru — the administrative capital of South Kalimantan, gateway to the Meratus highlands.
• Banjarmasin — Kalimantan's largest city, famed for its dawn floating markets on the Barito.
• Pangkalanbun — the practical jumping-off town for Tanjung Puting orangutan cruises.
• Palangkaraya — the riverside capital of Central Kalimantan, base for peat-forest and river trips.
• Pontianak — capital and culinary heart of West Kalimantan, straddling the equator on the Kapuas.
• Samarinda — East Kalimantan's capital on the Mahakam, gateway upriver to Dayak country.
• Singkawang — the "city of a thousand temples," with vibrant Chinese-Indonesian heritage.
• Tarakan — an inshore island and North Kalimantan's largest city, near the Malaysian border.
• Apo Kayan — a remote highland plateau of traditional Dayak villages.
• Derawan — an offshore archipelago renowned for diving, turtles, and a jellyfish lake.
• Gunung Palung National Park — a rugged West Kalimantan reserve protecting wild orangutans.
• Loksado — the gateway village to the Meratus mountains and bamboo-raft river journeys.
• Nagara — a South Kalimantan river settlement known for its blacksmithing and swamp culture.
• Nusantara — Indonesia's ambitious new capital, under construction and open to limited tourism.
• Tanjung Puting National Park — the celebrated orangutan sanctuary, best explored by klotok boat.

Kalimantan's food varies by province and ethnic mix. South Kalimantan is the home of Banjarese cuisine — its signature dish is soto Banjar, a fragrant chicken soup scented with cinnamon, clove, and star anise, often served with rice cakes (ketupat); also try ketupat kandangan and grilled iwak (river fish). West Kalimantan, especially Pontianak, has a strong Chinese-Indonesian and Malay food culture — look for chai kwe (steamed dumplings), bubur pedas Sambas (a spiced rice-and-vegetable porridge), and excellent kopitiam coffee.

East Kalimantan offers Kutai dishes such as nasi bekepor and gangan asam Kutai, a sour fish soup. Across the interior, Dayak cuisine features foraged ferns, river fish, wild boar, and rice. Banjarmasin's floating markets sell breakfast straight from boats — try local cakes (wadai) with a cup of coffee. Halal food is standard in Muslim-majority Banjar and Malay areas; Dayak villages and Chinese-Indonesian establishments may serve pork, so travellers with dietary restrictions should ask. Vegetarians will find vegetable and tofu dishes but should note shrimp paste (terasi) is common.

Kalimantan is one of Indonesia's most culturally layered regions. The indigenous Dayak peoples — actually a broad family of distinct groups — maintain longhouse communities, intricate beadwork and weaving, ironwood carving, and ceremonies tied to rice farming and ancestor veneration. The coastal Banjar and Malay populations are predominantly Muslim, while sizeable Chinese-Indonesian communities, especially around Singkawang and Pontianak, sustain a distinctive temple and festival culture.

Major events include the Erau Festival in Tenggarong, a Kutai sultanate cultural celebration with traditional dance, river processions, and the belimbur water-splashing finale; the spectacular Cap Go Meh in Singkawang, where tatung mediums in trance parade through streets lined with red lanterns (January–February); and Dayak harvest and thanksgiving festivals such as Gawai-style celebrations after the rice season. Languages reflect this diversity — Indonesian is official, Banjar serves as a lingua franca across much of the island, and dozens of Dayak and Chinese dialects are spoken.

• Cruise to the orangutans of Tanjung Puting — board a wooden klotok houseboat up the tea-coloured Sekonyer River, sleeping on deck and watching wild and rehabilitated orangutans at feeding stations like Camp Leakey.
• Visit Banjarmasin's floating markets at dawn — Lok Baintan and Muara Kuin come alive before sunrise, with traders selling fruit, cakes, and noodles from canoes on the river.
• Dive the Derawan Archipelago — manta rays, green turtles, and the rare stingless jellyfish lake on Kakaban island make this one of Indonesia's premier marine destinations.
• Raft the rivers of Loksado — float through the Meratus mountains on traditional bamboo rafts and visit Dayak longhouse villages.
• Tour Indonesia's new capital, Nusantara — witness the construction of an entire purpose-built city rising from the East Kalimantan forest, a once-in-a-generation nation-building project.