INTRODUCTION TO INDONESIA

Nowhere in the world offers such diverse and fascinating contrasts as the island Republic of Indonesia. Landscape ranges from coral atolls to volcanoes stretching across the backbone of Sumatra, Java, Bali and other islands in the east. Of 300 volcanoes, 128 are active, more than half of which have erupted. More than 300 known ethnic groups, each with its own culture and speaking some 200 distinct languages, inhabit the 13,677 islands in the archipelago. It would take you 38 years of island-hopping to visit each one! Covering a land area of 741,000 square miles (nearly 2 million sq km) the archipelago extends for 3,180 miles (5,120 km), roughly the distance between New York and San Francisco. Astride the equator, Indonesia is covered with lush vegetation-forests, coconut palms and jungle exotica, especially orchids. No fewer than 15,000 tropical species are recorded. This humid, green habitat is home for many rare animals, including the Java tiger, Komodo dragon and the magnificent birds of paradise.