At Iluwe, 1½ hours up a steep path from Jiwika, is Air Garam, a group of saltwater wells. Villagers soak sections of banana trunk in the water, then dry and burn them and use the resulting ashes as salt. Village boys will show you the way for around 50,000Rp, but to see the process at work, try to find a woman who will accompany you (100,000Rp per person). To avoid climbing in the midday heat, start from Jiwika before 10am.
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The celebrated mummy is kept at the tiny settlement of Sumpaima, 300m north of Jiwika along the main road from the main village entrance (look for the…
4.16 MILES
The road north from Jiwika is flanked by rocky hills with several caves. Gua Kotilola is a sizeable cavern up a short, pretty path behind a Dani compound,…
4.59 MILES
About 8km from Wamena, nondescript Aikima is famous for its Werapak Elosak mummy, the (supposedly) 300-year-old corpse of a great chief, which was…
6.76 MILES
In Wosilimo, a 45-minute drive northwest from Wamena, Gua Wikuda is said to be several kilometres long, with an underground river that reaches Danau…
10.72 MILES
The 280-year-old Alongga Huby mummy can be viewed in Araboda; viewings cost around 80,000Rp (plus another 50,000Rp to the holder).
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This lovely lake, 30km west of Wamena as the crow flies, sits amid alpine grasslands at 3400m altitude, with dramatic, snow-capped mountains in view …