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Indonesia - West Papua - Tour Destination
New Guinea is one of the world’s largest tropical islands, surpassed in size only by Greenland, and is blessed with an incredible avifauna, including some of the planet’s most outlandish birds. The Indonesian half of the island, the province of West Papua (Irian Jaya), is a destination few birders have visited, with large expanses of pristine habitat, from towering snow-capped peaks to huge tracts of humid lowland forest. Of particular importance to birders are several distinct mountain ranges, some of them quite isolated. This isolation has led to the evolution of a diverse and unusually interesting avifauna with numerous endemics, a significant number of which being restricted to West Papua and its offshore islands; our pioneering tour is designed to see as many of these restricted-range and endemic species as possible.
The attraction of West Papua for many is the fact that it remains relatively under-developed and primitive and affords the intrepid birder a glance into cultures from a bygone era, having barely emerged beyond the stone-age! This does mean however that this tour is not for the faint-hearted and we will be using fairly rustic, camping accommodation during much of the tour. This is a small price to pay for the opportunity to see some of the most spectacular and mythical birds on the planet, including Brown-collared Talegalla, Snow Mountain Quail, Forest Bittern, New Guinea (Harpy) Eagle, Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove, Victoria and Western Crowned-Pigeons, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Palm Cockatoo, Pesquet’s Parrot, Salvadori’s Fig-Parrot, Yellow-capped Pygmy-Parrot, Modest Tiger-Parrot, Black Lory, New Guinea Woodcock, Archbold’s Nightjar, Large, Barred and Mountain Owlet-Nightjars, Crested and Tit Berrypeckers, Greater Ground-Robin, Smoky and Green-backed Robins, New Guinea Logrunner, Vogelkop Scrubwren, Spotted and Blue Jewel-Babblers, Western Smoky Honeyeater, Belford’s, Short-bearded and Vogelkop Melidectes, Lorentz’s Whistler, Pale-billed, Black-billed, Black and Brown Sicklebills, MacGregor’s, King-of-Saxony, Red, Wilson’s, Magnificent, Twelve-wired, Loria’s and Crested Birds-of-paradise, Splendid and Arfak Astrapias, Western Parotia, Long-tailed Paradigalla, Vogelkop and McGregor’s Bowerbirds and Snow Mountain Munia, to name but a few!
To see this suite of incredible birds you will journey with us to the island of Biak, brimming with endemics; to the mysterious Snow Mountains including the upper Ibele Valley; to the spectacular Arfak Mountains; the northern lowlands bordering the Cyclops Mountains and to the wonderful lowland forests of Waigeo in the Western Islands of New Guinea, home to yet another set of birds with highly restricted ranges.
For those dedicated birders with a sense of adventure and a desire to see birds that few birders have ever seen, this remains one of the most incredible destinations on the planet. Our leader, fluent in Indonesian and very familiar with this strange land, is sure to expose you to the avian wonders of remote West Papua, and we greatly look forward to having you aboard what is sure to be an incredible adventure!
Please note that we are not offering a standard set departure tour to Indonesia-West Papua during 2010. We are however still arranging customized private tours to this country and we will gladly assist you in arranging the perfect guided birding or wildlife adventure to Indonesia-West Papua for you.
Please contact the Rockjumper Office should you have any queries about this tour.
| tour name | West Papua |
| max group size | 10 & 2 Rockjumper leaders |
| habitats covered | lowland and montane rainforest, Eucalyptus savanna, mangroves, grasslands, rivers and wetland, islets |
| climate | hot and humid with tropical showers, colder in the highlands |
| tour pace & walking | intense with some long hikes |
| accommodation | comfortable hotels in urban centers, otherwise basic, including camping |
| ease of birding | challenging |
| no. of species expected | 360 - 420 |
| top birds | New Guinea Eagle, MacGregor's & Wilson's Bird-of-paradise, Long-tailed Paradigalla |
| other attractions | Stone-aged cultures, remote rainforests, tropical paradise islands |
| photographic opportunities | challenging |
