DANI , KOROWAY AND ASMAT PROGRAM
( 21 Days - 20 Nights )

DAY 01. JAYAPURA – ARRIVAL (D)
Upon arrival at the Sentani Airport you will be met and transferred to the Sentani Indah Hotel for your check in and dinner, depending on time of arrival.

DAY 02. JAYAPURA – WAMENA (BLD)
After breakfast transfer to the airport for your morning flight to Wamena, the main town of the Baliem Valley. Upon arrival you will be met by your guide and begin a full day of sight-seeing including visits to a local traditional market, the Sinatma hanging bridge and a Dani village. Continue on, visiting the surrounding town of Wesaput and then onward to Suroba, a Dani community. Here you will have the opportunity to see their traditional pottery, wood carvings, weavings and pottery. Be prepared to bargain if you desire to make purchases! Many Dani men still dress only in a penis gourd, while others have adopted western clothing. Overnight and dinner at the Baliem Pilamo Hotel.

DAY 03. WAMENA – JIWIKA – WAMENA (BLD)
Today will be spent touring the northern Baliem valley. Drive to Jiwika where you’ll start to climb the Mili Mountain to see how the Dani women extract salt in their traditional way. Banana stems are pounded until dry and then put into a pool of brine. They are then dried and burned, and the ashes are used as salt. From here you’ll walk down to Sumpaima village to see the 250 year old mummy of the local village chief. Afterwards, proceed to Anemoigi village to enjoy the Dani pig feast and dance. later, head for Waga Waga village and Kantilola Cave, which are said to contain the bones of victims of a past tribal war. Return to Wamena in the late afternoon for your dinner and overnight.

DAY 04. WAMENA – YANIRUMA (BLD)
After breakfast you’ll be transferred to the Missionary airfield for your chartered flight to Yaniruma, which is in the south low land of Irian Jaya. These flights are notorious for being late, so patience is the key word here. After your hour long flight over the mountains, arrive in Yaniruma and walk to your accommodations at the missionary guesthouse. The remainder of the day is yours to explore the village and experience the isolated life of the Koroway and Kombay tribes. Your guide will arrange porters and other preparations for your trip the next day to the interior.

DAY 05. YANIRUAM – KOROWAY (BLD)
From the guesthouse you will walk 20 minutes down to a small river near the village of Yaniruma, where you will start your adventure into the Koraway land by paddle or dugout canoe crossing the Dairam Kabur River. From the bank of the river you begin the 4-5 hour trek through the swamps, sometimes walking over a fallen log or tree, and crossing the river with or without a bridge. In the tropic rain forest in the vast-green lowland of south Irian Jaya, there are many exotic things to be discovered and experienced, but with a great deal of mosquitos, swamps, high heat and humidity. Your trekking in the forest will be supported by the local porters who will carry your bags and gear, and will love to help you to do some of the more difficult sections of this trip. Arrive in Dambol around noon and meet the first Koroway family in their tree house. Koroway is named for the people who always move from one place to another at least once every three years. They do not live in a large group, so at every location of the tree house you will only see 2-4 tree houses side by side. The Koroway are also great hunters who hunt pig, cus-cus, and most other birds. After meeting the Koroway and their family, you may interact with them with the help of your guide. Overnight in a tent near the tree house.

DAY 06 – DAY 11 TREE HOUSE ADVENTURE (BLD)
Today starts your six day expedition to the Koroway tribe through the dense tropical rainforest. Walk through the swampy low land, crossing the rivers by paddle canoe or walk over the fallen tree which serves as a bridge for a small river. We everyday will join and staying with the Koroway peoples to learn their daily activities of life : built the house, hunting, fishing, looking for food

DAY 12 . KOROWAY – YANIRUMA (BLD)
From Koroway you continue trekking for about 3 and a half hours back to Dairam Kabur river, where you will use a paddle or dugout canoe to return to Yaniruma. After a few days in the forest, the missionary guest house will seem like a city’s guest house.

DAY 13. YANIRUMA – BASMAN (BLD)
From Yaniruma travel down stream back to Basman by paddle. Arrive in Basman in the afternoon, depending on the weather and water level in the river. The more water in the river the faster it will be. Overnight in local house or church.

DAY 14. BASMAN – SENGGO (BLD)
Breakfast, then sail down the stream for 8 hours to Senggo. We will see on the way some Koroway and Citak mitak tribe fishing by local canoe and look for food. Lunch provided by boxes. Dinner and stay at losmen

Day 15 SENGGO-ATSY-AMBISU (BLD)
In the morning continue traveling by motorized canoe heading onto Siretsj, and continue for 7 hours on the large river of Betsj heading for Ambisu village near the coast. Before arriving in Ambisu a stop will be made in Atsy to get our travel permit from the local police station. Here you may also visit one of the men’s houses with a chance to buy souvenirs from local artists. Arrive in Ambisu with your overnight at a school or long house.

Day 16 AMBISU-KAWET-OMANDESEP (BLD)
After breakfast, walk to the village and view a Asmat ceremony show arranged by the villagers. After the ceremony travel to the village of Kawet to see more of the Asmat environment and culture. Walking into the village you will visit the mens house and then travel back to Ambisu through the Betsj river, continuing on to another Asmat village called Omandesep.

Day 17 OMANDESEP (CEREMONY) (BLD)
Today you will enjoy another ceremony of the Asmat tribe. In the afternoon you will travel up to the Warkai village by paddle local canoe to see the activities of the local tribes. Overnight at a school or long house in Omandesep.

Day 18. OMANDESEP-OTJENEP/PIRIEN (BLD)
Breakfast, on board the motorized canoe heading the through the river and ocean for Pirien Otjenep village, we will see the Asmat peoples with their local canoe at the mouth of river looking for food such as fish, shrimp and crabs to bring home. 2 hours ride a boat, arrive at Pirien village. After lunch, walking around the village and visit the long house. At the evening enjoy the drumming at jew. Dinner and stay at local or chief house.

Day 19 OTJENEP/ PIRIEN – AGATS (BLD)
After breakfast you will have time for shopping the Asmat’s products for souvenir’s . Afterwards, walk to our motorized canoe for your trip on the Arafuru Sea to Agats. Arrive in Agats by noon, where you will then visit the Asmat Cultural Museum which contains excellent examples of Asmat artifacts, wood carvings, and skulls collected in the 1960s before headhunting was banned. Like Venice, Agats seems suspended between water and sky. The water comes not only from the annual rainfall of 200 inches but also from the high tides that flood the town daily and necessitate elevated boardwalks for foot traffic. At high tide, boats pass underneath. Narrow plank walkways lead off the main boardwalks to individual houses, and making a stroll in Agats is an exercise in equilibrium. All parts of the town are connected by these causeways, giving the impression at high tide that the town is floating on water.
Dinner and overnight at Padaelo losmen.

Day 20. AGATS – TIMIKA (BLD)
Breakfast, then on board the motorized canoe ride to Timika for 10-12 hours, we will stop at the small island to have lunch. Afternoon arrive at Mapuru jaya port, then by car drive to Serayu hotel for dinner and stay overnight.

DAY 21. TIMIKA – DEPARTURE (B)
Breakfast at hotel, then transfer to the airport for fly to the next destination.