BALIEM VALLEY
Deep Inside of Western New Guinea
Explore the last frontier of Indonesia’s remote Papua Island, embark on a spectacular cultural journey and attend the Baliem Valley cultural Festival scheduled to take place from August 06th -08th 2022-Next year.
This is the one occasion,
when all the diverse tribes from the highlands of Wamena and the Baliem Valley
such as the Dani, Lani, and the Yali congregate to celebrate their annual
festival. This year the festival will be centered in the district of
Jayawijaya. Located high in the Jayawijaya mountains on the Indonesian side of
the island of New Guinea, Baliem is a stunningly beautiful green valley long
hidden beyond soaring hills.
Highlight of the
Festival is the mock tribal warfare held to maintain the agility and
preparedness of the tribes to defend their villages.
To prepare for these
mock battles, organizers have prepared an arena of 400m by 250m that will be
filled with 500 to 1000 of warriors and dancers.
The tribal war
simulation is scheduled to be held during two days featuring about 26 groups of
30-50 warriors. These mock battles are accompanied by the Papuan traditional
music of Pikon. Pikon is a musical instrument made out of wood skin which
produces sounds when one blows it. The sounds created produce soothing music.
Not many people can play the instrument as it requires special skills.
Organized by the
district government of Jayawijaya, the festival is aimed to introduce and
preserve the values and culture of Baliem Valley’s traditional tribes. The
Baliem Valley festival will be enhanced by various fascinating art and cultural
performances, including traditional Papuan dances, pig racing, Puradan Rattan
Spear Throwing, Sikoko Spear games, Papuan traditional musical performance, and
many more.
There will also be a
special competition of Sege throwing and archery competition for foreign
visitors as a sign of appreciation for their attendance. Visitor can also
experience the true meaning of being a Papuan by wearing the traditional
costumes of Koteka and have their skins blackened so they can also be part of
the festivities.
Join the crowd and
learn what makes them smile, laugh, and cheer. The Baliem Valley Festival 2022
awaits, offering abundant memories of the magical land of Papua.
To reach Baliem
Valley fly to the town of Wamena via Jayapura. There are regular flights
available to Jayapura from Jakarta and Makassar. To attend the Festival it is
best to contact an experienced travel agent.
For complete
information on the Baliem Valley, including flights, operators, how to get
there, where to stay, and what to do, you can visit our: Baliem Valley : Home
of the Dani
💧Tips:
Foreigners must
obtain a "travel permit", known as Surat Keterangan Jalan to get access into the
interior of Papua. You can obtain the Surat Keterangan Jalan at major police
stations, such as at Jayapura, Merauka, Timika, Biak, Nabire, Monokwari and
other major cities.The permit will depend on your request, lasting from 1 week
to 1 month or longer. Prepare copies of your passport, recent photograph and
list of places you wish to visit. It is easy to obtain the Surat Keterangan
Jalan, because the officers are friendly and helpful. A Guide is needed to
explore the valley. The best time to visit is between March and August If you
travel during the rainy season, prepare yourself with cold weather gear Ask
your guide about Do’s and Don’t in the Baliem Valley. High up in the mountains
of central Papua at an altitude of 1,600 meters above sea level, hemmed in by
steep green mountain walls, lies the stunningly beautiful Baliem valley, home
of the Dani tribe.
Baliem valley is 72
km. long, and 15 km to 31 km wide in places. It is cut by the Baliem river,
which has its source in the northern Trikora mountain, cascading into the Grand
Valley, to meander down and further rushing south dropping 1,500 meters to
become a large muddy river that slowly empties into the Arafura Sea.
The first outsider to
discover the valley was American Richard Archbold, who, on 23 June 1938 from
his seaplane, suddenly sighted this awesome valley dotted with neat terraced green
fields of sweet potatoes, set among craggy mountain peaks. This is Indonesia’s
own Shangri-La.
Only recently emerged
from the Stone Age, the Dani are known as the “gentle warriors”. With their
simple tools of stone and bone, they nonetheless, managed to sculpt green
fields that hug the hills, where they grow root crops, and raise pigs. They
have also built outposts and lookout towers to defend their valley from hostile
tribes.
Because of the
fertile soil and their agricultural skills, the Dani together with the
sub-tribes of the Yali and the Lani, are, therefore, the most populous in
Papua, living scattered in small communities near their gardens among the steep
mountain slopes. Today, they also cultivate bananas, taro and yams, ginger,
tobacco and cucumbers.
The men’s and women’s
huts (locally called the honai) have thick thatched roofs, which keep the huts
cool during the day and warm during the cold nights.
By trekking, you can
witness traditional ceremonies, traditional markets and the way of life of the
Dani. There are a very limited number of restaurants inside the Baliem Valley.
Your tour guide can bargain with the Dani people to provide you with simple
meals. It’s strongly advised that visitors bring their own meals and snacks
during trekking through and around Baliem Valley. Meals and snacks can be
bought at grocery stores in Wamena.
To make your trip
easier and to get the most value, it is advisable to find a packaged tour
offered by several operators. Click on Find Travel Agent
At the end of the
mock battles, food festivities are held at the venue or nearby. When you book a
tour package, the organizers usually provide places to eat. Dance performances
and music shows are staged and visitors are welcome to join.
During the festival,
have your camera ready. Very often you will come across unique moments that you
never want to miss. A number among the more than a thousand war participants,
do want to keep abreast with the outside world, so they adorn themselves with
local regalia, while sporting flashy sunglasses: a personal ad of a trendy look
meeting age-old tradition. Ask them politely to pose for you. It’s an unusual
anachronism not to be missed.
All you need to do
during the festival is just observe and enjoy the mock war. The longer it gets,
the nearer the spears and arrows get to hit the opponents. The closer the miss,
the louder the roar from the hundreds of spectators. They have participated in
these battles every year so that participants do get better each year.
After the Festival,
visitors can go sightseeing to the Dani Market in Wamena, and visit the
traditional Wauma Village that can be reached by car from Wamena. In Aikima see
a 250 year-old mummified village chief, or, after a 2-hour climb, see the salt
springs, where Dani women have, for centuries, made salt in a simple manner.
👍We do confirm you that, Baliem Valley festival info, 2022 start on 6-8 August
__________________
e-mail:
trekpapua@gmail.com
Ph-+62 812-4762-870-8
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