Indonesia has more endemic birds than any country on earth: more than 500 of its 1,700-plus species live nowhere else, spread across an archipelago that runs from Sumatra to New Guinea. No single trip can touch it. We run five, each on a different group of islands and each for one to four photographers: Sumatra (with a Java and Bali extension) in June; Bali on its own, Sulawesi (with Halmahera) and the Lesser Sundas in July; and West Papua in August.
Nick has photographed across the whole archipelago, from the Greater Sundas through Wallacea to New Guinea, and the itineraries follow where the birds are photographable rather than where the tourists go.
Endemism on a scale that changes what a trip can be. On Sumba, Timor, Rote and Flores almost every bird you point a lens at is found only on that island. Sulawesi's kingfishers, Halmahera's Wallace's Standardwing, Sumatra's Schneider's Pitta and Salvadori's Pheasant, the Bali Myna, and the Wilson's and Red Birds-of-paradise of Raja Ampat are birds that most photographers will never see, let alone photograph. Add the fact that much of the country is still barely visited by birdwatchers, and the images are as rare as the birds.
The trade-off is logistics: internal flights, boats, long drives and simple lodgings. That is exactly the part we handle, and why the groups stay small.
June to September, the dry season across most of the archipelago, is when we run every Indonesian tour: forest trails are passable, the seas are calm for the island crossings, and the birds-of-paradise are displaying. The wet season from November to March makes West Papua and the eastern islands unreliable.
Indonesia: West (Sumatra) – 14 to 25 June 2027, 12 days · Easy · Nick
Two sites in Jambi Province for Schneider's Pitta, Graceful Pitta, Salvadori's Pheasant, Sumatran Peacock-Pheasant, Sumatran Trogon, Sumatran Cochoa, Sumatran Ground Cuckoo, the wren-babblers, Salvadori's Nightjar, Sumatran Frogmouth and Rajah Scops Owl. Optional 11-day extension to East Java (Green Peafowl, Javan Blue-banded Kingfisher, Black-winged Myna) and Bali. US$6,700 (2027).
Indonesia: Bali – 1 to 6 July 2027, 6 days · Easy · Nick
A short, easy trip for Bali Myna, Javan Banded Pitta, Green Junglefowl, Javan and Cerulean Kingfisher, Rufous-backed Dwarf Kingfisher, Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker and Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher. US$3,400 (2027).
Indonesia: South (Lesser Sundas) – 9 to 29 July 2027, 21 days · Easy · Nick
Six islands: Lombok for Ornate Pitta and Rinjani Scops Owl; Sumba for Elegant Pitta, Sumba Hornbill, Citron-crested Cockatoo and Chestnut-backed Thrush; West Timor and Rote for Timor Boobook, Timor Sparrow, Rote Boobook, Rote Myzomela and the munias; Flores and Komodo for Flores Monarch, Bare-throated Whistler, Wallace's Scops Owl and the heleias. US$11,800 (2027), deposit US$4,000.
Indonesia: Central (Sulawesi) – 10 to 21 July 2027, 12 days · Easy · Roland
North Sulawesi for the kingfishers (Green-backed, Lilac, Sulawesi Dwarf, Great-billed, Scaly-breasted), Sulawesi Pitta, Sulawesi Nightjar and Scops Owl, Knobbed and Sulawesi Hornbill, the hanging parrots and Maleo. Optional 9-day extension to Halmahera for Wallace's Standardwing, Ivory-breasted and North Moluccan Pitta, Sombre Kingfisher, Moluccan Owlet-Nightjar, White Cockatoo and Blyth's Hornbill. US$6,700 (2027).
Indonesia: East (West Papua) – 3 to 25 August 2027, 23 days · Medium · Paul
Biak for Biak Hooded Pitta and Biak Paradise Kingfisher; Jayapura for Wallace's Owlet-Nightjar and the frogmouths; Merauke for the bowerbirds and kookaburras; the Arfak Mountains for Western Parotia, Vogelkop Bowerbird, Black Sicklebill and the owlet-nightjars; Fakfak for Magnificent and Lesser Bird-of-Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird and Southern Cassowary; Raja Ampat for Wilson's and Red Bird-of-Paradise. US$12,900 (2027), deposit US$4,000.
All five include guiding, ground transport, domestic flights, accommodation, meals, entrance and hide fees. Later-year prices are on each departure page. Sumatra, Bali, the Lesser Sundas and Sulawesi run back to back in June and July and can be combined; ask us.
June to September. Our five tours run between mid June and late August.
Each departure page lists its targets island by island. The signature birds are Schneider's Pitta and Salvadori's Pheasant (Sumatra), Bali Myna (Bali), Sumba Hornbill and the Timor and Rote endemics (Lesser Sundas), the Sulawesi kingfishers and Wallace's Standardwing (Sulawesi and Halmahera), and Wilson's and Red Bird-of-Paradise (West Papua).
Four at most. Private departures are possible on all five itineraries in the dry season; solo travellers on a private trip pay a single-participant surcharge.
Hides and bait stations are used in Sumatra, Bali and Sulawesi; the Lesser Sundas and West Papua are mostly trail and lek work. 500-600 mm for the forest birds and the leks; a 100-400 for the hornbills, cockatoos and coastal birds.
Easy for Sumatra, Bali, the Lesser Sundas and Sulawesi: light walking, no hiking, no camping. Medium for West Papua, with mountain lodges, steep short walks and long travel days.
Guiding, ground transport, domestic flights, accommodation, meals, entrance and hide fees. Not included: international flights, visa, travel insurance, tips for local guides, personal items.
Ask about Indonesia · Sumatra · Bali · Lesser Sundas · Sulawesi & Halmahera · West Papua
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