Mahakam River Culture Tours

Mahakam River Tour

The Mahakam River Cascade down from the spring in the hearth of Borneo, near the Malaysian Border of Sarawak. The five days Cascade Mahakam River tour cruise you from the wetlands and big lakes to the traditional Dayak villages, to meet the former headhunters with its culture treasures in their longhouse. Now-a-days the Dayak hunt the rain forest for their meat. During this tour you will cruise by Houseboat as a traditional wooden boat into the middle part of the Kalimantan island River streams, explore the statutes, and coffins as their mystic animism believes. The Tattoo and woodcarvings mark the traditions that the Dayak kept hide for all, except the adventure travelers.

CASCADE THE MAHAKAM RIVER CRUISE

Tour Package Duration 05 Days / 04 Nights

Day 01: BALIKPAPAN, SAMARINDA, MAHAKAM RIVER (LD)
When you have landed in Balikpapan airport, the guide will await you at the terminal, for a short meeting service and refreshing, before continue the journey by car or minibus to Samarinda, Loa Janan harbor, to board the houseboat as the mark to start the exciting experience of the Mahakam River Cruise upstream towards the Dayak tribe rain forest hinterland of Borneo. Enjoy your meals and overnight on houseboat.

Day 02: MUARA MUNTAI, MANCONG, TANJUNG ISUY, MUARA PAHU (BLD)
Short touring at Muara Muntai Wooden village, as the point for crossing Jempang Lake by motorized kayak to Mancong Dayak tribe longhouse settlement. During the canoe journey you could see untamed wildlife at Ohong creek like proboscis monkeys, macaque, leaf monkeys and lots of feathered jungle creatures. Harboring in Mancong village, we will be invited in the culture by a mystic ceremony of the Dayaq Benuaq tribe, at one of their Oldest Dayak Longhouse of East Kalimantan. in the afternoon, the trip continue by our kayak to Tanjung Isuy along the lake before we are sailing back to the houseboat which will cruise us upstream Mahakam River, while we having dinner and overnight on board.

Day 03: MUARA PAHU, KEDANG PAHU RIVER, MOUNT BAYAN, TERBISAK, CRUISE UPSTREAM MAHAKAM RIVER (BLD)
The boat will arrive early morning at the Jungle village Muara Pahu, enjoy your breakfast on board to see the river life culture activities of the village people from the boat. The motorized canoe will pick us up for a captivating adventure trip at the Kedang Pahu River to Mount Bayan rain forest area, where we visit Terbisak as a small Dayak longhouse settlement which is still habituated by around 100 Dayak individuals traditional living of hunt and dry rice field cultivation as a natural heritage. On the way back, we will spot the intriguing nature and untamed wildlife as otters, leaf monkeys, proboscis monkeys and lots of birds, before we enter the delta of the Belowan river stream as a black water peat swamp land, with chances to detect the Irrawaddy fresh water dolphins. Board the houseboat to proceed further upstream while having your dinner and overnight on board.

Day 04: MELAK, EHENG, OMBAU ASA (BLD)
Early morning Melak town will Show up at the river bank, as a small fascinating trade point between the deep interior and coastal line of Kalimantan. Here we drive through the rain forest highlands to Eheng village where about 35 families of the Dayak Tunjung tribe live in an old longhouse. Continue by car passing beautiful slopes and jungle valleys to Kersik Luway National park, as a flora treasure of wild orchid and pitcher plant species, if you are lucky the black orchid can be seen. In the afternoon we visit Ombau Asa jungle waterfall, before we return to the houseboat for cruising downstream the Mahakam River towards the Kutai Sultanate capital Tenggarong.

Day 05: TENGGARONG, BALIKPAPAN (BL)
Breakfast on board when the boat arrives at Tenggarong, as the center of an old Borneo sultanate. The statutes at the river banks are the historic culture signs of the amazing assortment of legacies, ceramics, and Dayak's craft, as part of the collection in the Palace of the Kingdom. The journey will continue downstream to Samarinda, Lunch on board of the boat before we head by car to Balikpapan airport where you can connect with your flight to your next destination.

Mahakam River Facts

Mahakam River is a highway in to the rainforest of East Kalimantan Province, which can be reached via the main international airport Balikpapan, or the local airport Samarinda, which have a variety of destination flights. The River adventure cruise sail you into the deep interior of East Kalimantan. The main attraction of the lower part are the river life culture and jungle wildlife of the Lakes. The art full Dayak Culture and Longhouses in the villages, and wildlife along the river banks are a mixture of diversity from proboscis monkeys, fresh water dolphins, to lots of birds species.

Mahakam River Weather
Day Temperatures 27 °– 32°C
Night Temperatures 20 °– 25°C
Humidity 80%-90%
Rainfall 4,000mm per year
Wet Months October & June
Dry Months February & August ( but expect daily rain )

Mahakam River Accommodation
Mahakam River has poor accommodation facilities at the villages, The houseboat with Indonesian Styled accommodation as the standard with cold water shower but airconditioned sleeping cabin, will cruise you slowly through the hinterland, enjoying the scenery along the river sliding away

Travel Time & Distance East Kalimantan – Kutai Park
Balikpapan – Samarinda overland 3 hours
Samarinda – Muara Muntai houseboat cruise 14 hours
Muara Muntai – Lakes – Muara Muntai full day
Muara Muntai – Muara Pahu houseboat cruise 6 hours
Muara Pahu – Melak houseboat cruise 6 hours

How To Get There
Balikpapan Sepinggan international airport with direct Flights to Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, Tarakan, Berau, Palu, Makassar, Manado, SingaporeSamarinda Airport with direct flights to Melak, Balikpapan, Berau, Tarakan, Nunukan, Long Apung, Tanjung Selor ( ATR – Airvan planes )

Things To Bring
Long wear
Towel, soap and personal needs
Torch/Flash light
Waterproof bag (for documents and electronics)

Mahakam River Culture & Wildlife
The wildlife is exotic, lots of water birds, along with the endemic proboscis monkeys, and other forest denizens including clouded leopard, leaf monkey, macaque, pangolin anteater, tiny tarsier, lizards, and pythons. The Tribal Cultures on the way are more then 40 tribes, with all their own cultural believes and art, from longhouses, to earlobes and tattoo’s

General Information
East Kalimantan Province area is 145,534 square kilometers, with a 3 million population