West Papua, I look for info about dangerousness.

Hi dear friend,
thanks for your advice.
If I will reach Wamena from Italy will I require of two permits, one
for Indonesia and
one for Wamena (in Jayapura)?
Can you tell me if will it easy to look for a tent in Wamena?
Will I have to bring a tent from Italy?
thanks

Adriano




It was 6 years ago, so things may have changed. The village I liked best was
Magaima. Akima and Jiwika both have mummys in the men's house which they will bring
out and let you photograph for a small donation, the best being in Jiwika. I would
avoid Iluga (also called Ireliga).It is a steep climb and the people were dressed in
cast off dirty western clothing: a missionary village. Everywhere else the men mostly
wore only the penis gourds and women in grass skirts.The scenery around Kurima was
pretty.Can't comment on Sugokoma and Hetergima as my notes are missing for those
days, and don't recall anything different or special..
Hope you have a wonderful trip.
Adriano wrote:

You should be able to find a local guide in Wamena.The villages I visited in the
Dani area before going to the southern Asmat and Korowai area were Iluga, Wolo,
Magaima,Jiwika, Akima, Hetegima, Sugokomo and Kurima. Mostly hiked from one
village to another.

Hi,
thanks for your interesting news. Can you tell me which village is
more preserved and more interesting among "Iluga, Wolo,
Magaima,Jiwika, Akima, Hetegima, Sugokomo and Kurima"?
Thhanks again

bye Adriano

When I was there you needed an Indonesian visa, and anyone going to Wamena and the
neighbouring villages needed something called a surat jalan from the police in Biak or
Jayapura....also was available in Jakarta.If you got it in Jakarta it must also be stamped
in Jayapura police station before proceeding to the Baliem valley. It was necessary to get
it stamped by police in each area. It was necessary to bring 4 extra passport photos. This
may have changed but I wouldn't risk it. Periplus Adventure Guides has an excellent travel
guide for Irian Jaya which would give you up to date information.
Don't expect to find much in the way of camping equipment in Wamena. Some of us were
robbed in a village and there were 3 plastic water canteens in the entire town, and may be
impossible to find a tent.Also there was a dangerous form of malaria and pills didn't
work for most of our small group, so it might be best considering sleeping in village huts
for a small fee.
Maybe someone who has been there more recently can give you further information.
It will be an amazing adventure, but not an easy one. Wishing you well. Wish I were going
back. Enjoy!

Adriano wrote:

Hi dear friend,
thanks for your advice.
If I will reach Wamena from Italy will I require of two permits, one
for Indonesia and
one for Wamena (in Jayapura)?
Can you tell me if will it easy to look for a tent in Wamena?
Will I have to bring a tent from Italy?
thanks

Adriano

It was 6 years ago, so things may have changed. The village I liked best was
Magaima. Akima and Jiwika both have mummys in the men's house which they will bring
out and let you photograph for a small donation, the best being in Jiwika. I would
avoid Iluga (also called Ireliga).It is a steep climb and the people were dressed in
cast off dirty western clothing: a missionary village. Everywhere else the men mostly
wore only the penis gourds and women in grass skirts.The scenery around Kurima was
pretty.Can't comment on Sugokoma and Hetergima as my notes are missing for those
days, and don't recall anything different or special..
Hope you have a wonderful trip.
Adriano wrote:

You should be able to find a local guide in Wamena.The villages I visited in the
Dani area before going to the southern Asmat and Korowai area were Iluga, Wolo,
Magaima,Jiwika, Akima, Hetegima, Sugokomo and Kurima. Mostly hiked from one
village to another.

Hi,
thanks for your interesting news. Can you tell me which village is
more preserved and more interesting among "Iluga, Wolo,
Magaima,Jiwika, Akima, Hetegima, Sugokomo and Kurima"?
Thhanks again

bye Adriano

My wife and I spent a week trekking in the Baliem Valley in 1994,
which of course is quite a while ago. Nonetheless I will share our
experience.

We found a wonderful local guide and porters through the Wamena tour
operator Sam Chandra, who was recommended in Lonely Planet. (The guide
was local but Chandra was from Jakarta or the like.) I can't find
Chandra on the web so perhaps he's left, and I doubt our guide is
around as his body was tragically already suffering from recurring
malaria. Bring a mosquito net, 100% DEET repellent, and clothes to
cover as much of your skin as possible!

There were several other would-be guides in town. There seemed to be
an agreement that once one started soliciting your business (usually
as you left the plane), no one else would compete with him. Since we
didn't like the guy who chose us, we went to Chandra's outfit.

We slept most nights in what were described as the schoolteacher's
huts, the only nontraditional structures in each village. (I suppose
"schoolteacher" is synonomous with "missionary," although I'm not sure
we realized that then.) Our guides brought all our food with us.

I think we paid $600 for the week, and we determined that Chandra kept
about half of that as profit, which is probably pretty reasonable
given the realities of life there.

Those were the practicalities. Most important, we loved the
experience. People were incredibly friendly, the culture was
fascinating, and the scenery was spectacular. It was our favorite week
in our year of traveling around the world. I wish we'd stayed there
longer.

Bruce Burger
Seattle, USA