Mahakam River Tours,Kalimantan Mahakam River Tour Operator & Adventure Tour Specialist,Tours to  Melak Village, Mahakam River Journey into the Jungle visit the Dayak 

Kalimantan Tour Operator in Indonesia, is able to serve your Golden Traveling Routes to the Deep Hinterland of Mystic Borneo / Kalimantan Island, as Jungle treks, Dayak indigenous Culture, Adventure trips in area's as the Apokayan, Kayan River, Mahakam River, Barito River, Rungan River, Kahayan River, Katingan River, Kapuas River, Mount Meratus, Kutai Reserve, Kayan Mentarang Reserve, Tanjung Puting Reserve, Camp Leakey, Orangutan tours, Tangiling National Park, Gunung Palung National Park, Danau Semantrum National Park, Kersik Luwai Reserve, Diving at Derawan Islands, Longhouse Tours, Dayak Hunting Tours, Mahakam Dolphin Tours, Orangutan safari,Safari, Safari Tours, Safari Tour, Adventure Tour, Adventure Tours, Adventure expedition, Adventure Expeditions, Expedition Tours, Expedition tour, Expeditions tour, trip, trek, trekking, Adventure trek, Adventure trekking, Adventure trips, jungle trek, jungle treks, jungle trekking, jungle trekkings, jungle tour, jungle tours, jungle adventure tour, jungle adventure tours, rain forest trek, rainforest trekking, rain forest trekkings rain forest tour, rain forest tours, rain forest adventure tour, rain forest adventure tours, rain forest expeditions, rain forest adventure expedition tours, wild life adventure, wild life tour, wild life tours, wild life expedition, wild life expedition tours, bird tour, bird tours, wild life safari, wild life safari tour, wild life safari tours, safari trip, , travel to Kalimantan, travel to Borneo, wild life travel, adventure travel, expedition travel, traveler, traveling, touring, tourism, backpack tour, backpack tours, backpacker tour, backpacker tours, backpacker expedition, backpacker safari, backpacker traveler, backpacker traveling, of the beaten track tours, of the beaten track expeditions, of the beaten track travel, of the beaten track safari, of the beaten track expedition, Kalimantan of the beaten trek, of the beaten trek, of the beaten trek tours, of the beaten trek adventure, Kalimantan of the beaten track, itineraries, itinerary, tour program, tour programs, pax, travel compagnion, travel friend, cross the border of Malaysia to Indonesia, cross the Kalimantan Border, cross the Borneo border, Tawau to Nunukan, Tawau to Tarakan, cross the border tawau, cross the border Nunukan, cross the border Long Bawan, cross the Border Entikong, fly, flights, airlines, Hotel, Hotels, tour reservation, tour operator, Kalimantan tour operator, Borneo tour operator, eco tourism tour, eco toursim tours, eco tour, eco tours, ecotourism, tours to Sabah, Sarawak etc, etc. Hotel bookings, Taxi / Car rental service, Boat rental, Flight bookings and a lot more can be arranged.
          Kalimantan Tour Operator in Indonesia,serve Traveling Routes to the Deep Hinterland of Mystic Borneo / Kalimantan Island, as Jungle treks, Dayak indigenous Culture, Adventure trips in area's as the Apokayan, Kayan River, Mahakam River, Barito River, Rungan River, Kahayan River, Katingan River, Kapuas River, Mount Meratus, Kutai Reserve, Kayan Mentarang Reserve, Tanjung Puting Reserve, Camp Leakey, Orangutan tours, Tanggiling National Park, Gunung Palung National Park, Danau Semantrum National Park, Kersik Luwai Reserve, Diving at Derawan Islands, Longhouse Tours, Dayak Hunting Tours, Mahakam Dolphin Tours, tours to Sabah, Sarawak etc, etc. Hotel Reservations, Taxi / Car rental service, Boat rental, Flight bookings we can help to create your own Kalimantan tour program. Covering Whole Indonesian Borneo. Programs are Culture, Nature, and Adventure or a combination of it. Our standard programs can be found at Tour Programs Site from where you can choose a Kalimantan tour package or make a combination of two or more Kalimantan packages. Our Kalimantan Tour Packages covering whole Borneo.For Information crossing the borders between Sabah or Sarawak to Indonesian Kalimantan. Now Kalimantan is crisscrossed by giant rivers including the Mahakam River, Barito River, Kapuas River,Kahayan River,Sekonyer River,Kayan River,Katingan River,and the Belayan River. A wide variety of montane and lowland rainforest, each an important genetic resource and wildlife habitat. More then a half of the hard wooden tree species are found only at Borneo, climbing rattan palms, vines, orchids, ferns, and pitcher plants common.The wildlife is unusually diverse, wherever you go animal sounds will follow,with luck you might see several species of monkeys, gibbons, wild ox, wild cats, flying lemur, martins, weasels, fresh water dolphins, orang utans, sun bear, leopard, snakes, hornbill birds, parrots, parakeets, and crested fireback pheasants.many kinds of beautiful butterfliesand meta llic beetles, poisonous polypods, brightly colored millipedes, giant walking sticks, but don’t forget the mosquitos and leeches and the more dangerous bees.The population of Kalimantan is diverse, cause of the booming oil, coal, gold and timber industry, many Indonesians came to Kalimantan searching for work in the last two decades. The native Dayak people live deeper inland along the river banks throughout the interior of Borneo,each Dayak tribe about 200 Dayak tribes have it’s own dialect and culture, thriving as hunters and gatherers. Other Indonesians call the Dayaks stupid men considering them backward because of headhunting and other animist customs. The truth is that they are scrupulously honest by nature, though exposure to Christianity and modern values has muted this trait. Due airstrips and boat connections the Dayak territory is still some of the most inaccessible on earth.Headhunting officially doesn t exist in Kalimantan anymore, though isolated jungle beheadings are still reported as a symbol par excellence of the procreative power of nature. Common interpretations in anthropology agree that nearly all the Dayaks tribes, are of a larger more common Austronesian migration from Asia, regarded to have settled in the South East Asian Archipelago some 3,000 years ago. The main Dayaks are the Bakumpai and Dayak Bukit of South Kalimantan, The Ngajus, and Baritos of Central Kalimantan, Benuaqs,Kayan and Kenyah of East Kalimantan, and the Ibans of West Kalimantan and Malay Borneo, Other populations are the nomadic Punan, which are live nowadays along the Border between Kalimantan and Sabah / Sarawak.Coastal populations in Borneo are largely Muslim in belief, however these groups (Ilanun, Melanau, Kutai) are generally considered to be Islamized Dayaks, native to Borneo, and governed by the relatively high cultural influences of the Javanese Majapahit Kingdoms and Islamic Malay Sultanates, periodically covering South East Asian history.Traditionally, Dayak agriculture was based on swidden rice cultivation. Agricultural Land in this sense was used and defined primarily in terms of hill rice farming, ladang (garden), and hutan (forest). Dayaks organised their labour in terms of traditionally based land holding groups which determined who owned rights to land and how it was to be used. Nowadays, the Dayaks work in the mining industry, wood industry, and plantations of Borneo.The Dayak indigenous religion is Kaharingan a form of animism which is categorized as a part of Hinduism in Indonesia. The practice of Kaharingan differs from group to group, and for example in some religious customary practices, when a noble (kamang) dies, it is believed that the spirit ascends to a mountain where the spirits of past ancestors of the tribe reside. The most salient feature of Dayak social organisation is the practice of Longhouse domicile. This is a structure supported by hardwood posts that can be hundreds of metres long, usually located along a terraced at the river bank. At one side is a long communal platform, from which the individual households can be reached. Longhouses have a door and apartment for every family living in the longhouse. For example, a Longhouse of 200 doors is equivalent to a settlement of 200 families.Headhunting was an important part of Dayak culture, there used to be a tradition of retaliation for old headhunts, which kept the practise alive. Reports describe Dayak War parties with captured enemy heads. At various times, there have been massive coordinated raids in the interior, and throughout coastal Borneo.Metal-working is elaborately used for making mandaus ( machetes ). The blade is made of a softer iron, to prevent breakage, with a narrow strip of a harder iron wedged into a slot in the cutting edge for sharpness. Under Indonesia's transmigration programme, settlers from densely-populated Java and Madura were encouraged to settle in the Kalimantan provinces, but their presence was, and still is, resented by Dayaks, Banjars and local Malays . The large scale transmigration projects initiated by the Dutch and continued by the current national government, caused widespread breakdown in social and community cohesion during the late 20th Century. The systemic and violent attacks on Indonesian Madurese settlers, including mass executions of whole Madurese transmigrant communities. Kutai National Park is a lowland forest area with a number of principal vegetation types, including coastal/mangrove forest, freshwater swamp forest, kerangas forest, lowland flooding forest, ulin/meranti/kapur forest, and mixed Dipterocarpaceae forest. This Park is also part of the largest relatively pristine ulin forest in Indonesia.Among the plants that grow in this Park are mangrove (Bruguiera sp.), cemara laut (Casuarina equisetifolia), simpur (Dillenia sp.), meranti (Shorea sp.), benuang (Octomeles sumatrana), ulin (Eusideroxylon zwageri), kapur (Dryobalanops sp.), 3 species of rafflesia, and various orchid species.An ulin tree in Sangkimah has a height without branches of 45 m, a diameter of 225 cm or a circle of 706 cm, and a volume of 150 m3. It is the highest and largest plant recorded in Indonesia.As well as a variety of plants, this Park also has a high animal diversity. Primate groups like orangutan (Pongo satyrus), Mueller's Bornean grey gibbon (Hylobates muelleri), proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis fascicularis), maroon leaf monkey (Presbytis rubicunda rubicunda), white-fronted leaf monkey (P. frontata frontata), pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina nemestrina), and slow loris (Nycticebus coucang borneanus) can be found in Teluk Kaba, Prevab-Mentoko and Sangkimah. Ungulate groups like banteng (Bos javanicus lowi), sambar deer (Cervus unicolor brokei), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak pleiharicus), and lesser Malay mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus klossi) can be found throughout the Park area.Carnivore groups such as sun bear (Helarctos malayanus euryspilus) and flat-headed cat (Pardofelis planiceps) can be found in Teluk Kaba, Prevab-Mentoko and along the Bontang-Sangatta road.Teluk Kaba in Kutai National Park is the location of the nation's third orangutan rehabilitation centre.Kaba Bay and Muara Sangkimah: marine tourism and observing animals, especially orangutans, proboscis monkeys, sambar deer, lesser mouse deer, sun bears, and birds.Lombok Bay and Muara Sungai Sangatta: marine tours and observation of original mangrove forest.Prevab-Mentoko: research; watching animals such as sun bears, orangutans, lesser mouse deer , and wild pigs.Kayan Mentarang National Park covers an area of 1,600,000 ha and is located in the far interior of East Kalimantan province. The park comprises the largest remaining block of rainforest in Borneo and as such forms a very important refuge for numerous species, including many species that are endemic to the Bornean mountain bioregion. About half of the reserve consists of species-rich dipterocarp lowland and hill forest while mountain forest ranges up to Kayan Mentarang's highest mountain at 2,000 m. 40 Percent of the park has an elevation above 1,000 m.The park is inhabitated by several thousand Dayak and Punan people who live from shifting cultivation and rice farming. Wildlife is hard to see due to hunting by native Dayaks.WWF has been working on developing eco-tourist projects in cooperation with the local people. It has 5 field-offices in settlements around the park, which are helpful for information. It also has a research station at Long Alango, north of Long Pujungan, which can be visited, and is probably the best place to see wildlife.Access Kayan Mentarang National Park is very remote and only accessible by public flights on the Samarinda-Long Ampung and Tarakan-Long Bawan routes, or by public riverboats following the Tarakan-Tanjung Selor-Long Pujungan route.To access the southern part of the Park, visitors can fly from Samarinda or Malinau to Long Ampung. From Long Ampung head for Data Dian (an approx. 5 hour journey on 13 HP boat engines). Since fuel is extraordinary expensive. However, visitor's with time can get around half the price when asking for a lift with the locals who go to Data Dian.MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) has flights, However, both DAS and MAF require advanced booking (minimum 1 month before departing date),and both airlines reserve the authority to prioritize seats for local citizens from around the Park - so outside visitors often find themselves stranded even after numerous seat reconfirmations. It is good to bring luggage less than 10 kg in weight when flying with DAS (DAS limits each persons weight - including luggage - at 80 kg). This makes it more flexible to secure a seat on board on last minute seat availability. MAF puts even more restrictions on luggage weight (up to 10 kg/person) on regular flights unless chartered.Accommodation There's no official accommodation, but it's possible to stay in the many Dayak settlements inside the park.Kersik Luway Nature Reserve nature reserve between Melak and Barong Tongkok, 18 kilometers to the south. The Black Orchid (Coelogyne pandurata) which blossoms between April and December, grow s on shrubs in this 5,000 hectare reserve. Many hundred of other orchid species also grow in this forest. The reserve is located 170 kilometers from Samarinda and can be reached in 32 hours by boat. Other tourist spots in this regions include Jentur Gemuruh waterfall and Kersik Kerbangan, a forest known for is wild orchids. Visitors usually stay at Sekolag Darat village.Pepas Eheng village belongs to the Barong Tongkok district, 209 kilometers from Samarinda . Plait work, rattan furniture and Tunjung Dayak statues are made here. The village can be reached from Melak in one hour by car.Muara Oahu is a district town at the meeting point of the Kedang Pahu and Lawa river, in the Mahakam hinterland. Twenty-eight villages, with a total population a bout 11,000 are found in this area.The cultural heritage of the Dayak people is very much evident at Tolan village. There are two traditional houses and a graveyard which are worth seeing. The people here live from panning for gold, looking for bird's nests and tilling the dry fields.Tanjung Puting & Camp Leakey,Tanjung Puting National Park has several ecosystem types: lowland tropical rain forest, dryland forest, freshwater swamp forest, mangrove forest, coastal forest, and secondary forest.The Park is dominated by lowland forest plants like jelutung (Dyera costulata), ramin (Gonystylus bancanus), meranti (Shorea sp.), keruing (Dipterocarpus sp.), and rattans.Endangered and protected species of animal inhabiting the Park include the orangutan (Pongo satyrus), proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), maroon leaf monkey (Presbytis rubicunda rubida), sun bear (Helarctos malayanus euryspilus), lesser Malay mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus klossii), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), and leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis borneoensis). This Park was the first place in Indonesia to become a rehabilitation centre for orangutans. There are now three orangutan rehabilitation locations, Tanjung Harapan, Pondok Tanggui, and Camp Leakey.The orangutan of Kalimantan has dark reddish fur and no tail. As they get older, the adult males cheeks flesh out, resembling cushions. The older they get, the bigger these cheek flanges grow, giving them a fierce look.Tanjung Harapan: this is the first station in the orangutan rehabilitation process. Situated in the midst of secondary forest and swamp forest, it has a guesthouse, an information centre, and trails.Pondok Tanggui: orangutans that have passed the semi-wild phase are moved to Pondok Tanggui. There, they are closely monitored from a distance, and human contact is avoided.Camp Leakey: founded in 1971 in the middle of primary forest, this is the location for semi-wild and wild orangutans, and for younger orangutans from birth until three years of age.Natai Lengkuas: bekantan research station, and watching other animals along the river.Buluh River and Danau Burung: watching birds, in particular migrant species.How to reach the Park: Jakarta-Semarang-Pangkalan Bun by plane, or from Semarang to Pangkalan Bun by ship.Tangiling Reserve, is an Option to Find good wild life and orangutan.Danau Sentarum National Park (DSNP),is located in a remote area of West Kalimantan, Indonesia, and situated close to the Malaysian border of Sarawak, approximately 700 km. inland from the provincial capital, Pontianak. DSNP is an area of interconnected seasonal lakes and seasonally flooded tropical forests with the water catchment consisting of lowland tropical forest in the hills and flooded forest in the low-lying areas. A patchwork of various forest developmental stages characterizes the former and is a result of commercial logging, swidden cultivation, and smallholdings of rubber and pepper.The Sungai Sedik territory was occasionally hunted by members of at least five other longhouse communities and residents of Lanjak.Gunung Palung National Park Nature Reserve is a 100,000 ha (241,700 acres) park located on the southwestern coast of Borneo. It is rich in rain forest habitats and plant and animal biodiversity. It has coastal mangrove forest and fresh and brackish water swamp forest, lowland peat swamp forest, various types of lowland forest, submontane and montane forest. Until recently its wildlife populations were undisturbed.The orangutan is considered the umbrella species for conservation in the area, and is also an important ecological agent for seed dispersal and seed predation. It is believed that orangutans at Gunung Palung constitute one of the most dense and largest populations on Borneo.Currently, however, their rain forest home is severely threatened.Despite its relatively small size, Gunung Palung and the surrounding areas harbor what is thought to be one of the most dense and viable remaining orangutan populations in Kalimantan, and therefore, the world. funded in part by The Orangutan Conservancy, gives an estimate of 2500 individual orangutans - about 17% of the estimated population in Borneo and close to 10% of the world's population.The Orangutan Conservancy is very optimistic about the work of Cheryl Knott and Tim Laman at the Gunung Palung National Park, located on the western side of Borneo. They are directing the efforts to protect the forest as well as the wild orangutan population. The Orangutan Conservancy considers it a very important effort to support.

Melak Village Mahakam River
  
                                               

 

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Melak Village along The Mahakam River 


Melak is a small Town and the last one along the Mahakam River before the adventure begins. Here souvernirs, and other stuff could be bought, as the connection place between the Hinterland and the Coastal City Samarinda.

Tour Destination : Melak, Mahakam River, East Kalimantan, Indonesia


Main Interest & Things to do :
Dayak Culture and Jungle Trek
recommended visit time is 1 or 2 days
Dayak Tunjung and Dayak Bahau are the major tribes,Melak is the biggest city in the center of West Kutai Regency.
The area along Melak is filled with Rubber plantations, and lowland rainforest
a Traditional longhouse with 35 Dayak Tunjung families can be found at Eheng village about 35 km from Melak.
Black and other wild orchids at Kersik Luwai Reserve about 25 km from Melak
Ombau Asa waterfall about 40 km from Melak along the way to Eheng.
Tering Lama is the place where Dayak Bahau and Hudoq ceremonies can be found, it's about 50 km from Melak.
Melak and Tering villages are jump off points to the hinterland of the Mahakam river if public ferries can't cruise further up the Mahakam river.
Jungle Trek can be done between villages


Culture : Dayak Bahau, and Dayak Tunjung


Flora & Fauna : Lowland Rainforest & excotic tropical wild life


Tour Starting Point : Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia


Tour Transport Possibilities :
by Public Bus from Balikpapan to Samarinda, cruise up Mahakam River by public ferry, or by chartered motorcanoe to Melak either Tering village, from here chartered cars have to be used to surround the area, no public transport is availeble here.Daily public buses go up to Melak and Barong Tongkok from Samarinda bus terminal.
Estimated travel time to reach Melak is 1 to 2 days from entry point Balikpapan.


Tour Ending Point : Balikpapan, East Kalimantan


Travel Distance to enry point : 450 Km to from Balikpapan Airport


Tour Duration : Short Get Through Visit 5 to 6 Days


Hotels & Accommodation : Simple Hotels


Grade : Usual

 

4 Days Myghty Mahakam River                                                        Cruising the  Mahakam River, with exotic scenary at both sides of the River. Visit Muara Muntai wooden village, crossing jempang lake, during the cruise you could see rainforest wild life at  Ohong Creek like several species of monkey's and birds. At Mancongvillage one of the Oldest Dayak Longhouse of East Kalimantan can be found, a Dayak Welcome Ceremony could be held. At Muara Pahu a visit to the Fresh Water Dolphins Information center, and when lucky spotting can be done at the Delta of the Bolowan River.....full itinerary
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5 Days Cascade Mahakam River                                                       Mahakam River cruise Safari, passing villages along the river. Visit Muara Muntai wooden village, crossing jempang lake, during the cruise you could see rainforest wild life along Ohong Creek like monkey's and birds species. Mancong village one of the Oldest Dayak Longhouse of East Kalimantan can be found, a Dayak Welcome Ceremony could be held. At Muara Pahu a visit to the Fresh Water Dolphins Information center, and when lucky spotting can be done at the Delta of the Bolowan River. In Melak village short sight seeing and visit the Dayak Tunjung Longhouse at Eheng and the National Park Kersik Luwai  where you can find wild orchids, and when lucky you can see the "Black Orchid". ....full itinerary

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   5 Days Kalimantan Wild Life                  
Cruising the exotic Mahakam River, Visit Muara Muntai  wooden village, crossing jempang lake, during the trip you could see rainforest wild life while passing Ohong Creek like several kinds of monkey's and birds species, arrival at Mancong Dayak village with one of the Oldest Dayak Longhouse of East Kalimantan. Dayak Welcome Ceremony could be held here. At Muara Pahu a visit to the Fresh Water Dolphins Information center, and when lucky spotting can be done at the Delta of the Bolowan River. A Jungle trek with Wild Life spotting at Kutai National Park with Orangutans and Sun Bears, and exotic Fauna.....full itinerary 
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8 Days Mahakam Rainforest
A trip up the Mahakam River, with exotic scenary of the ecological wealth and daily activities of the citizen at both sides of the River. Sight seeing at  Muara Muntai wooden village, crossing jempang lake, passing rainforest wild life at Ohong Creek like Long Nose monkey's and several birds species. Visit  Mancong  Dayak village, with one of the Oldest Dayak Longhouse of East Kalimantan. a Dayak Welcome Ceremony could be held. At Muara Pahu a visit to the Fresh Water Dolphins Information center, and when lucky spotting can be done at the Delta of the Bolowan River. In Melak village visit the Dayak Tunjung Longhouse at Eheng and the National Park Kersik Luwai  where you can find wild orchids, and when lucky you can see the "Black Orchid".At Data Bilang and Rukun Damai the Dayak Kenyah with the Long Ears and art full Longhouses can be found, before we continue to the Upper Mahakam, for a forest trek in the virgin prime jungle....full itinerary

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                                                                                                Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime exploration Mahakam River Tour of the Kalimantan Island !