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The Glossary

pura - "temple"

From Indonesia Glossary

To be called one of Indonesia's "least-visited" provinces has its boons and banes as it is in the case of Kalimantan. On the one hand, this implies that the province is leagues apart from Jakarta and Bali when it comes to tourist arrivals. On the other hand, being out of tourists' radar gives Kalimantan the freedom to become one of the world's most diverse places. Kalimantan's cities like Balikpapan possess the shiniest of diamonds, Central Kalimantan is home to present-day headhunters, and the region's virtually untouched rainforests cradle exotic species like the Bornean Orangutan, the Asian Elephant, and the Bornean Clouded Leopard. Everything that sparkles—from the world's rarest rubies, to crystal-clear lakes and sandy beaches that shimmer in the tropical heat—can be found in this island situated right at the heart of Indonesia.

Kalimantan comprises two-thirds of Borneo, the world's third-largest island, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Life in Kalimantan centers on its mighty rivers, and hence, visitors are usually found riding on klotoks (motorized canoes) in Tanjung Puting National Park, rafting on the rapids of Sungai Mahakam or Pegunungan Meratus, paddling a canoe along Banjarmasin's canals and floating markets, or sailing across the tropical islands around Pulau Derawan and the isolated beaches of Pontianak.

With little effort, nature-worshippers can see orangutans, proboscis monkeys, sun bears, and other representatives of Kalimantan's over 200 types of land animals, 420 species of resident birds and 18 thousand kinds of plants found in uncharted jungles and mountains like Tanjung Puting National Park, Kayan Mentarang National Park, Sungai Kapuas, and Apokayan Highlands.

Central Kalimantan has the largest concentration of Dayaks, Borneo's original inhabitants from whom all Southeast Asians trace their ethnological and linguistic origins. The Dayaks are known animists, sword smiths, and headhunters. Nonetheless, Central Kalimantan's urbanization has driven off the remaining headhunters to the hills and rainforests, making the place safe for festivities such as Gawai Dayak Week, an annual cultural and arts festival featuring the Dayaks' native cuisine (Iban or Bidayuh), renowned metal work (mandaus or machetes), and traditional games such as blowpipe shooting, shield drawing, and rice-pounding.

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