Biak monarch, Papua birding
#papuabirding
#papuabirdingtrip
#papua-birdswatching
#biakbirdsphotogrpahy
#trekpapuatour
#trekpapuabirdingteam
Papua:Birding and cultural tour
PAPUA BIRDING
Central Highlands- Baliem Valley
The island of New Guinea is dissected by a series of east-west running ranges which contain more than 50 peaks over 3,750m high; the highest peaks in Australasia. 36 of Indonesia’s 37 highest mountains are all contained in the Maoke Mountain range in West Papua, including Puncak Jaya (Carstensz Pyramid) which at 4,884m high is Indonesia’s highest peak. The range creates a high level of rainfall which feeds fast flowing rivers, montane forests, alpine grasslands and dense tropical rainforests which cloak the lower slopes.
For over 40,000 years the mountain sides and in the valleys have been inhabited by scattered highland tribes. Even today, those communities remain largely intact and represent some of the oldest living tribal cultures in the world. It is still possible to find village elders who recall the arrival of the first white man to their village.
It goes without saying that a journey into the highlands of West Papua will leave you with some unforgettable and sometimes jaw-dropping memories. And the best part is, it’s all relatively accessible.
For the vast majority of tourists, the town of Wamena in the Baliem Valley is the gateway to the central highlands and the starting point for most independent trekking or organised tours. The town can be reached several times via daily flights from Sentani, has reasonably good facilities and easy access to the surrounding villages; all of which are nestled in the gorgeous Baliem Valley.
Lying at an elevation of 1,600m, the valley is formed by the Baliem River which sweeps downs from the 4,750m high Mount Trikora in the south, then meanders through the massive valley before spilling into the Arafura Sea. The fertile river plains encapsulated in this so-called “Grand Valley” are home to a tranche of the Dani tribes people, who lived for centuries in splendid isolation in Papua’s central highlands until first contact was made with western tribes in the late 1920’s by Dutch ex