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Visit
Isolated Apokayan Dayak Kenyah & Kayan
The Highlands of the Apokayan are remote
located, till today, the area is only possible to reach by the small
aircrafts, which fly regular from Samarinda, either Malinau, to obtain
a seat, is another hassle, as locals have the first right, and last
minutes reservations are seldom successful, due of the limits of
availability. Due of it's remote condition, the Apokayan kept away
loggers, miners, and tourists from the area. Apokayan is cut off from
the downstream part of the Kayan river due of rough water rapids, and
therefor a dream destination for those who are adventures with
patience.
The fundamentalist missions have
influenced a part of the traditional Dayak culture, while most still
belief in their animism beliefs. The ecology of the Apokayan region is
still in tact. Who wants to watch wildlife in
the pristine forest, can best visit one of the side
rivers of the Kayan downstream of Data Dian, plenty of wild
pigs and deer including the barking deer are often seen here.
Due the isolation, and limits in lifehood, Lots of the Dayak Kenyah and
Kayan Tribe has spread to more downstream locations searching for
better life. The population of Apokayan decreased
dramatically over the last 20th years and settled in
the villages along the Kayan River as Long Betaoh and Long
Musang, others migrated to villages along the Mahakam
River as Ritan Baru, Bila Tabang, Muara Wahau, Long Segar,
Muara Ancalong, Rukun Damai, and Data Bilang, And about 200
families migrated to Pampang, a village about 40km north of Samarinda.
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Apokayan
now-a-days, is the most south-west region of the youngest
North Kalimantan province, The region is part of Indonesian Borneo
Island. The region is a forest plateau, of between the 500 - 1700
meters above sea level, bordering Malaysia Borneo, where the Kayan
River springs, and streams to the Apokayan to the North Kalimantan
capital city Tanjung Selor at the coastal line.
Apokayan is inhabited by the Dayak Kenyah and
Dayak Kayan Tribe. To travel to the Apokayan, one have to cruise
upstream one of the Major Rivers, as the Mahakam River in East
Kalimantan, or the Kayan River and Bahau River in North Kalimantan,
from here by foot trekking the jungle trails, into the Apokayan, the
trails, and trekking time will be from 3 to 10 days. Once in
the Apokayan area, trekking or by expensive motor-canoe tourist can
move in between the villages. The biggest villages in the area of 200
inhabitants or more are Long Apung, Long Sungai Barang, Lidung Payau,
Long Nawang, and Data Dian
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If you wish to bring a visit to the area, it
is recomended to take some canned food with you, to give away to the
locals for their hospitality. Overnights can be done at the
villager houses, the best is to meet the chief of the village, which
will arrange your accommodation.
The Apokayan region is an isolated area, with all it's limits
in available stuff, which make expenses for food, fuel, and anything
else quite expensive.
No drinkable water in the area as Aqua bottles available, while the
river is clean, still not recommended to drink from, highly recommend
to take purifying pills or water sterilization equipment with
you.
The houses in the Apokayan are from
wood, with longhouses in most villages, no mattresses, bring
your blanket and sleeping bag with you, as you will sleep on the wooden
floor.
The Dayak in the Apokayan live from hunt in
the forest, with dry rice planting, also sago from the jungle sago
palms are exploited. Apokayan export some of it's products, as the
Harvest from Plantations of pepper, also the forest damar raisin, the
aromatic aloe wood, and local digged gold from the rivers. For the
other forest products as wood, ratten, the problems of transport are
the case, while a road connects to the Sarawak Malaysian province.
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Tour
Destination :
Apokayan, North Kalimantan,
Indonesia
Main
Interest & Things to do :
Dayak
Culture Safari Tours and Jungle Trek Expeditions
Jungle
Trek can be done in the whole Apokayan area, recommended visit
time is 4 or 5 days
Dayak
Kayan, and Dayak Kenyah Culture are still intact, Rainforest and
traditional farming can be found around almost each village the area of
Apokayan
Jungle
Trek Expedition Tours can be done between villages
Culture
:
Dayak
Kayan, Dayak Kenyah, Dayak Punan
Flora
& Fauna :
Rainforest & excotic
tropical wild life
Starting
Point :
Balikpapan East Kalimantan, or Tarakan North Kalimantan,
Indonesia
Tour
Transport Possibilities :
by
Public Bus from Balikpapan to Samarinda airport, continue by flight
( booking has to be done one month in advance, for reservation or
schedules please contact us, or see the "How To Get There" site)
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to
Long Apung.
By
speedboat from Tarakan to Malinau, continue by flight ( booking has
to be done one month in advance )to Long Apung.
To
Reach Apokayan Overland, from Samarinda, cruise up Mahakam River by
public ferry or chartered houseboat till Long Bagun, from here
chartered long boats have to be used to get to the Boh River, and
cruise up as far as possible, another 3 to 4 days trekking through
tropical rainforest and mountains to Sungai Barang, from where you can
navigate by chartered motor canoes or hikking to villages in the
Apokayan area, estimated travel time to reach Apokayan overland is 8 to
10 days from entry point Balikpapan.
Tour
Ending Point :
Malinau,
Tarakan or Balikpapan, also possible to Trek via Long Nawang
to the area of Kayan River and Long Bawan, trekking time is between 1
and 2 weeks upon weather conditions and destination
Travel
Distance to enry point :
1200
Km to from Balikpapan Airport East Kalimantan Indonesia
1400
km from Tarakan Airport North Kalimantan Indonesia
Area
Information :
Kayan River
The
Kayan river with its tributaries stretches from the border area
between Indonesia and Malaysia along the Muller mountain range to its
estuary on the south coast of north Kalimantan. Tanjung Selor, at the
estuary of the Kayan river, is the capital of the Bulungan regency and
Youngest province North Kalimantan.
The Kayan river has a tributary called the Bahau river.
The
upstream region of the Kayan river, especially the plateau
(400-1,700 meters above sea level), is called Apo Kayan, inhabited by
Kenyah Dayaks, who live in the villages of Long Sungai Barang, Lindung
Payau, Long Uro, and Long Apung. The plateau is covered with forest and
dry rice fields, pepper plantations. The Dayak settlements are found in
areas 400 to 800 meters
above sea level.
Generally,
the Kenyah live in longhouses and are divided into several
sub-tribes or umaks. The Tukung occupy
the furthest upstream village on the Kayan river, Long Sungai Barang.
The Tao live in Lindung Payau and Lonh Uro, and Jalan in Long Apung
village.
The
umak, or longhouse, has many compartments. Each is called a lamin,
used by one family. The length of a lamin is five meters. The length of
longhouse is between 100 and 300 meters. In the past, there were
longhouses 400 meters long. There are flights from the Long Apung
airstrip to Samarinda, a 75 minutes flying distance away. Nawang Baru
and the umak dado longhouse are not far from Long Nawang, about three
kilometres away. The original arts and culture of the Kenyah, and
rattan handicraft items, can still be found here. Besides beautiful
jungle and mountain scenery, the Apo Kayan region has a refreshingly
cool climate and spring.
Long
Bawang and Long Berini, in the upstream regions of the Bahau
river, a tributary of the Kayan river, can also by reached by plane
from Tarakan, or by motorboat from Tanjung Selor to Apau Ping from
where it is a seven days Trek through the most dense forest found at
Borneo Island into the Krayan Hulu area before reaching Long Layu.
The
river journey up the Kayan river from Tanjung Selor is a rather
lengthy one, as it must go through the villages of Tanjung Palas, Long
Penjalin, Muara Hilir, Antutan, Mara, Long Beluah, Long Pesok and Long
Bia. Giram Raya is a big rapid near Long Pasok, with a length of 275
meters and a width of 55 meters, and gorge with whirlpools and granite
rocks. Boats must be carried over land, to avoid the rapid.
There
is a row of old graves in the shape of houses with statues
serving as pillars in Long Panjungan. The roofs are decorated with
wooden figure dragons. Sometimes dances are performed around the
village. The people wear masks during the rice planting.
Tour
Duration :
Short Get Through Visit 5 to 6 Days
by Flight and 14-18 days trekking Overland
Tour
Grade :
Challenging
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