Beyond Bali’s crowds: Seven unspoilt Indonesian islands

Bali has become a victim of its own popularity. Creaking infrastructure, clogged roads and over-development have travellers (never mind the detrimental impact to locals) lamenting the descent of the Island of the Gods into a hellish, overcrowded mess.

But Indonesia is positively blessed with beautiful unspoilt isles waiting to be explored – more than 17,000 of them. There’s no shortage of places for adventurous travellers to roam, but I’ve narrowed my list down to seven of the most exciting islands that are also fairly easy to reach – and every one of them is stuffed with natural attractions and rich cultural experiences.

Sumba

When I’m asked where to find the world’s most beautiful beaches, my reply is always Sumba. About 1600 kilometres east of Jakarta and 1000 kilometres north of Australia, Sumba is the result of a collision between tectonic plates, which has endowed the landscape with soaring bluffs, gigantic boulders, dramatic limestone formations, fearsome surf breaks, sheltered blue lagoons and glittering white sands.

The Sumbanese culture is just as fascinating, with a post-colonial mish-mash of Christianity and animism to discover. Take a cultural tour and you’ll encounter indigenous homes with elaborate thatched roofs, ancient monolithic tombs and impressive – sometimes bloody – festivals, as well as little wooden churches with spires in the shape of Jesus riding a horse.

Flores

Part of the Lesser Sunda Islands, located to the east of Bali, Flores is best known as the gateway to Komodo, where the famed dragons have roamed for 1.4 million years. A visit to Komodo National Park shouldn’t be missed but Flores itself is so enchanting it’s worth a holiday in its own right.

Dozens of active but sleeping volcanoes crest across the landscape, including Kelimutu, known for its cauldron-like, colour-changing lakes. Rural villages, surrounded by terraced fields, have homes shaped like pyramids and cones, and celebrate colourful harvest festivals. Every beach is a Bounty-ad beauty and the marine life is some of the most biodiverse on the planet. It’s easier than ever to get there, too, thanks to direct flights from Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia or from Singapore with Jetstar Asia.

Lombok

Until recently, the spellbinding beauty of Lombok had been largely overlooked in favour of neighbouring Bali, but the golden-white sands are slowly shifting. A significant investment in infrastructure has doubled capacity at the airport, drawing new direct international flights, while a smooth new road network has made it easier than ever to get around. That said, most of the island remains blissfully undeveloped, leaving visitors free to soak up Lombok’s volcanic landscape, shimmering rice fields, near-empty beaches and rich Sasak culture at a leisurely pace.

Belitung

A UNESCO Geopark you’ve probably never heard of, the island of Belitung sits in the warm Java Sea, east of Sumatra. Its winning attributes include beaches so white they’ll make your eyes water, gigantic granite boulders hewn into fantastical shapes by the elements, lagoons that shimmer from ice-blue to deep sapphire, and a bounty of biodiversity. Tourism remains in its infancy, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do. Fuel up on Javanese coffee for island-hopping boat trips, snorkel above colourful coral reefs, kayak through mangroves and hike to eye-popping viewpoints. Evenings are for firepits on the beach, barbecued fish cakes and stargazing cruises.

Bintan

A one-hour ferry ride from Singapore, Bintan’s wide, white-sand beaches, emerald golf courses, sweet coastal villages and nightly firefly displays make it a popular escape for Lion City-dwellers. You’ve got everything you need for a family-friendly break, but those in search of solitude need only head south. Passing through pineapple farms and rubber plantations, you’ll notice the island getting quieter until you reach the golden nugget of land that houses adult-only Cempedak Island. Reached by speedboat, guests are greeted with three golden beaches, a collection of 20 curvaceous bamboo villas (all solar powered and naturally cooled) and a hyper-local restaurant (with a global wine cellar). Neighbours include hornbills, the occasional pangolin and a family of slippery sea otters.

Anambas Archipelago

Set in the remote Natuna Sea, east of Malaysia and west of Indonesia, this island chain has a feeling of magic. Of its 255 far-flung islands, only 26 are inhabited, including Bawah Reserve – the region’s only luxury resort. It’s reached by taking the ferry from Singapore to Batam island, where guests are then whisked 80 minutes away by amphibious aircraft to what feels like the edge of the Earth. Amid a 1000-hectare marine conservation area, six rainforest-rich islands rise out of the water ringed by turquoise lagoons teeming with tropical fish. Three hiking trails on the main isle lead to secret beaches, shape-shifting sandbars, permaculture gardens and an extremely rare, 500-year-old keruing tree. Aquatic activities include scuba diving, snorkelling, kayaking and sunset cruises.

Raja Ampat

Not one but 1500 pom-pom-like islands embroider the coast of Papua, the world’s second-largest island and one of the most biodiverse points on the planet (nine new species of snail, seven new species of lobster and four new species of tree snake have been discovered there in the past two years alone).

Set at the heart of the Coral Triangle, hard-core divers have known about this spectacular part of the world for decades but it’s only fairly recently that more luxurious leisure vessels have started making inroads to Raja Ampat. Cruises typically range from seven to 12 nights, allowing enough time for spotting birds of paradise in crystalline lagoons at sunrise, gentle hikes through prehistoric rainforest to the sacred Blue River, photo ops at the Piaynemo viewpoint overlooking a fairytale assembly of rounded limestone islands, heart-racing searches for pods of Bryde’s whales and daily lolls on empty beaches.

The Telegraph, London