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Jayapura
Jayapura is the capital and the biggest city of this easternmost province. It is a neat and pleasant city, built on the slope af a hill overlooking the bay. General Douglas Mc Arthur's World War II quarters still stand here. The Museum Jayapura is located inside the Cenderawasih University campus. Tanjung Ria Beach, known as base G by the Allies during World War II, is a popular holiday resort with facilities for water sports.
From Skyline in the hills behind the city, one gets a beautiful view of Jayapura, Jotefa and Humboldt bays and the lake Sentani area.
Lake Sentani
There is a settlement on the shore of this lake not far from Jayapura where one can observe local traditions as they are practiced in the daily lives of the people. The short trip from Jayapura, pleasant as it is, offers a little foretaste of the province's magnificent sceneries.
Biak
Biak, a town built on the rocky soil of an island of the same name on the rim of Cenderawasih Bay, is Papua's gateway. A big Indonesian naval base, it has an infrastructure that is better than in most other places in the province.
Japanese caves are found near Ambroben. There are some good beaches on Biak island, the most popular of which are Bosnik on the east coast, which is good swimming and sky-diving, and Korem on the north coast, where one can watch young men dive for pearls. Supiori Island, just north of Biak, has a recreation forest and villages where visitors are welcome.
Kasuarina Cape
Named aher the big casuarina trees which grow in the area Kasuarina Cape is just two kilometers from Sorong town on the Bird's Head peninsula of northern Papua. Good for swim ming and recreation.
The Asmat
The Asmat people who live along the remote southeast coast around Agats are famed for their artistic "primitive" woodcarving. Modern civilization did not reach this area until recently. Agats has an interesting museum filled with woodcarvings and other objects. The area, however is still largely untamed widerness.
Asmat crahs received a boost in the late 1960s under a United Nations supported project to encourage local crahsmen to keep alive their art. Daily flights by Garuda are available between Jayapura, Jakarta and Ujung Pandang. In addition, there are weekly flights to and from Ambon, Surabaya and Denpasar, Bali.
PT. Pelni has regular service between Jakarta, Surabaya Ujung Pandang, and Jayapura in comfortable passenger ships. Places in the vicinity of Jayapura such as Skyline and Lake Sentani can be reached by taking a minibus. Biak has air and sea links with Jayapura. Sorong, is also served by air fromJayapura. Other destinations are reached by car or boat, or by light aircraft.
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