West Papua (all images)

West Papua is a province of Indonesia, located at the western end of the island of New Guinea. It includes the Raja Ampat archipelago with over 1500 islands. West Papua has an area of 140000 km² and a population of 880000 inhabitants. Only a bit over 51% of the population is of Papuan origin; the remainder consists of people coming from other parts of Indonesia.
Geographically West Papua includes a mountain range with 3000m high peaks in the north and extensive plains in the south; at the western end are the islands of the Raja Ampat archipelago.
West Papua has been settled since prehistoric times. The Europeans arrived first at the beginning of the 16th century, when the Portuguese and the Spanish first explored the region. The Dutch arrived in the 17th century and initially recognised the Sultan of Tidore as the ruler of New Guinea. Soon after that however the Dutch incorporated West Papua into the Dutch east Indies.
How to get to West Papua
The primary access point through which visitors reach West Papua is the city of Sorong, which has an own airport. Another airport is in Manokwari, the regional capital
Accommodation
At the moment hotels are concentrated in the areas most visited by tourists, i.e. primarily in Raja Ampat and the major cities. Most hotels are bookable via the international booking portals.