Trekking The
Mountain Kelam
The nature
reserves Baning and Kelam Hill are located in the Sintang
Regency. While in Kapuas Hulu, there is the Bentuang
The
Dayak people in the Kelam district of West Kalimantan, still live
traditional in their longhouse which lies is in the shadows of
Dark Mountain, an eerie, mystical mass of rock deep
in the magnificent rainforests of Kalimantan, There
are many stories told about the Kelam mountain and the spirits
which inhabit the steep forests that cling to its base. In
the past, the Dayak tribes would pray to these trees and to
the birds that
lived in them. Every part of this remote wilderness was
sacred, protected for centuries from Malay traders and Dutch
and British colonisers by the impenetrable jungle and the
ferocious Dayak headhunters.
Now,
most of the Dayaks are Catholics, and only the old can remember the "head houses"
they built to display the skulls of
their
enemies. The tribal people of its most
remote mountains is out of the "Stone
Age". Now live a basic life in
wooden cottages a few kilometres down
the road on the edge
of rubber plantations. Thousands of
new settlers came through the years, known as transmigrants,
into Kalimantan to work the
plantations of rubber, palm
oil and timber which have replaced the virgin forest. Most of
the settlers are from the islands of
Java or Madura and are Muslims
with no cultural or ethnic link to the Catholic indigenous
people with whom they share the land.
In
this remote village, the Dayak families have been living
together in the one expansive
thatch longhouse for as long as
anyone can remember. And
together they have followed the Dayak
laws, unwritten codes which
tell them which family has the right
to till which fields, which
children can marry when they grow up,
and what punishments they must
suffer for breaches of community
laws. In the
longhouse, every family is allocated the same amount of
private
space. The veranda is where
the cloth is woven and the rice pounded with heavy wooden
poles, the cows and pigs foraging in
the earth below, thick shafts
of sunlight breaking through the cracks in the thatch.
Malay
traders established sultanates along the island's coast and
thousands of Chinese migrants
arrived to pan gold, but few made
inroads into the land of the
headhunters. Those explorers who
succeeded in finding their way
through the towering jungles
returned with tales of war
parties taking hundreds of heads,
poison darts capable of
killing a man in four minutes and locally
forged blades able to slice
through the barrel of a musket in a
single sweep.
The
locals say headhunting stopped in this area about 1930s.
"It was done by young men to
prove themselves in the eyes of the
girls," They had to
look for a head - a man, woman
or child - because after you took
it, the spirit of the person
came to you and gave you courage."
|
Visit
the Traditional Dayak
Iban village Kampung Saham at Indonesia West
Kalimantan
Province. On the way we will see farmers working on their plantantions
and make a stop at The Dai
Nippon Navy World War II Monument....full
itinerary
_____________________________________
Visit the Traditional
Dayak
Iban village Kampung Saham at Indonesia West
Kalimantan Province.
On the way we will see farmers working on their plantantions and make a
stop at The Dai
Nippon Navy World War II Monument, Cruise from
Ngabang the River
into the rapids of
Riam
Pulau, Riam Panjang
and Riam Jambu respectively. which are situated at a distance
giving increasing challenge as the boat passing through
them apart from many
minor rapids you are going to encounter.This
unique challenging rapids adventure is conducted using
local boats
with highly experienced boatmen to enable the trip.
The tour also gives you an outlook of the only area in West Kalimantan
that produces diamond apart from gold.You are indeed welcome to try
the traditional way of panning gold or diamond during the trip. Observe
closely the living cultures and social structures in
the jungle. In person you’ll experience the
jungle-life and
getting to know more people, filling your heart with their cheerful
laughter. This adventure tour is only organised in its main features
and so it will always be an
adventure, which is depending on weather
and river conditions...full
itinerary
____________________________________
Cruising the Kapuas
River from Sintang
to Kebiau River, Trekking the jungle to Sabang
Laja Village following tracks to Ensait Panjang. There are two
Ensait Long-houses :
Ensait Panjang
and Ensait Pendek, situated at a distance. We pass
through Ensait Pendek and stay overnight in Ensait Panjang. Dinner will
be served together with the community and hospitality with the
chief.
Here we can see how they traditionally weave clothes, plait
baskets.
Climbing
The Mount Kelam from where you can see the Green Flora and
Fauna Beauty of Indonesia West
Borneo Province.....full
itinerary
____________________________________
Cruising up to the end of the Mahakam
River, you can enjoy an exotic scenary at both sides of the river. You
will get through the amazing and dangerous Rapids, between the high
Rocky Mountain walls. Our Longboat will bring us to the start
point for the trek crossing the Muller Mountains to the
Indonesia Province of West Kalimantan. During the Trek you will get
Through the unhabitated primary virgin Rainforest, we will fish and
hunt meat for our meals. Overnights are in a jungle camp, till we reach
Tanjung Lokan village, and cruise down the Kapuas River,
passing Putusibau, to reach Pontianak city as the end of this
challenging trek "Cross Borneo".
......full
itinerary
|
|
