Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic state, consisting of around 17,500 islands scattered between South-east Asia and Oceania at the level of the equator in the middle of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The country shares terrestrial borders with Malaysia, Timor and Papua New Guinea and maritime borders with Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Palau, India and Australia. Amongst the largest islands are Java, Sumatra and Borneo.

Most islands feature densely forested mountains of volcanic origin surrounded by swampy coastal plains and mangroves that slope down to form coral reefs. The land is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and is found on the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates that are subducted below the Eurasian plate, resulting in a series of shelves, volcanic mountain chains and deep-sea trenches with high seismic and volcanic activity

The archipelago has a tropical climate with pronounced wet and dry seasons, with precipitation being the main variable between the two. Warmer temperatures are expected around the coastal plains, as opposed to colder ones on the higher mountain regions.

Indonesia is an absolute powerhouse of wildlife, holding about 17 percent of all species on Earth despite taking up just 1 percent of the world’s land area. This massive biodiversity is driven by the Wallace Line – an invisible biological boundary separating the archipelago into a western zone dominated by Asian animals like orangutans and tigers, and an eastern zone home to Australian-style marsupials. This deep split is exactly cause the country features such high rates of endemic wildlife found nowhere else, from prehistoric Komodo dragons to the strange, tusked babirusa. 

The underwater world is just as mind-blowing, sitting right in the heart of the Coral Triangle with over 75 percent of all known coral species, making it a dream destination for divers who wanna explore. However, these incredible ecosystems from coastal mangroves to dense rainforests face severe threats from rapid deforestation and human activity, leaving many unique species fighting to survive.

Indonesia is home to the mind-blowing Kawah Ijen volcano, where massive amounts of hot sulfuric gases ignite upon hitting the air to create the illusion of flowing electric-blue lava at night. Nestled inside this same volcanic crater is the world’s largest highly acidic lake, filled with striking turquoise water that sits at a pH equivalent to battery acid.