Baliem Valley for a Day

Sometimes, getting yourself out of Mulia can be a difficult thing. I remember two weeks ago it was so hard to get a plane. My colleague was almost desperate, getting ‘Sorry, we don’t fly on that date’ response everytime she called aviation company. Our trusted Yajasi and Maf had their pilots -who are expatriates- taking summer holiday. Susi Air had its planes on maintenance check.

It took us two days of waiting impatiently before we had the news that within the week, there will be no direct flight available to Jayapura. The only way to get out is flying to Wamena (the main town of Baliem Valley)  with Merpati and, continue with Trigana to Jayapura.

I was kinda disappointed at first, because I really wanted to get back to Jayapura. But at some point I realized that this was a good thing because I had the chance to visit the place!

It took us 40 minutes in a shaky Merpati before arriving in Wamena airport. Wamena is the main town in Baliem Valley. It's located in Jayawijaya regency and lies in Central Mountains area just like Puncak Jaya. The air is pretty chill, but not as cold as Mulia. When you survive Mulia, then Wamena is nothing. 


We arrived in Wamena on Thursday and we have flight with Trigana the next morning.

The schedule was very tight, we didn’t have much time to go around.

But in the end, we managed to visit some places and I gotta say that it was totally worth it!


The White Sand of Tulem, near Kurulu district. The sandy hill.

The 368 y.o mummy of Wimontok Mabel at Jiwika village, Kurulu district. It is one of total seven mummies in Wamena. Story says that Wimontok was a tribal chief and war commander who died of old age. Against the custom those days, he requested to be preserved rather than cremated. 

To see and take picture with the mummy, you ought to pay around Rp 30.000,- (USD 3). Another charge of Rp 5000,- per tribe member applied when you want to take picture with member of the tribe. And please bear in mind, it's per person and per click. So if you take 3 clicks (3 times) with 2 members of the tribe, it means you have to pay: 3 clicks x 2 members x Rp 5000 = Rp 30.000,-. 

Again, we were lucky because we have our local Papuan friend who helped to negotiate with the tribal chief. I've heard once they charged Rp 450.000 (around USD 45) for a group of local tourist to see and take picture with Wimontok.

On the way home, we met Yali Mabel, the tribal chief. My friend said that one day the chief was invited to Germany to promote Papuan culture. And you know what he wore during the trip? Nothing but a penis sheath.

One of area we passed. Pretty Wamena.

Buying vegetables from a Mighty Mama. Look how loaded her noken is. Yet she walks miles away to sell vegetables in the market. 

Kiddos.

Market in Wamena. And look! They have becak just like in Java!