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Irian Jaya is Indonesia`s largest province covering approximately 253,616 square kilometers (158,510 square miles)of the western half of New Guinea, the worlds second largest island after Greenland. Irian Jaya is one of the most fascinating islands to visit and explore due to its geographically diverse landscape, rich bio-diversity and indigenous peoples. Irian Jaya is the last Indonesian island to be touched by the outsider and provides an opportunity to witness people just now emerging from the Stone Age.
 
Irian Jaya constitues 22% of Indonesia`s total land area and may be divided into the 3 distinct regions; the Baliem Valley, the Casuarian coast and North and West Irian. Geographically Irian Jaya has enormous diversity from swampland at the southern coast, to Savannah, and snow-covered mountains. The highlands consist largely of sedimentary limestone, sandstones and shale of tertiary periods. Volcanic rock is not common in the mountains, but in one of the few places an igneous intrusion has appeared at Mountain Tembagapura in the Sudirman Mountains the outcrop has proved to be incredibly rich in copper, gold and silver and is now the site of the world`s most productive copper mine.
 
Rivers and lakes add to the beauty of Irian Jaya. Membramo River, the mother of all rivers, lines the Irian Jaya `s map from north to south. This river then splits into many secondary rivers. Lake Sentani nearby Jayapura, and lake Habema near the Baliem Valley are just two famous ones among many others.

Like the rest of Indonesia, Irian Jaya has only two seasons: wet and dry. Although almost all parts of the island are tropical, regionally the weather is diverse. In the mountains and tropical forest rain falls almost all the time while in the northern part raining season occupies longer than dry season and at the-south-eastern area rain falls from April through November. Generally the best time to visit Irian Jaya is from May through September and December.

Its people and tropical rain forest are probably the most untouched on the planet. This may be one of the reasons why it is not easy to explore. Puncak Jaya (Cartenz) covered by everlasting snow has become a climbers paradise. Rounding the Puncak Jaya is Lorentz National Reserve, that has become an important conservation project in the province. At some coastal towns like Jayapura, Biak, Sarmi, Sorong and Manokwari there are World War II remains, which may be of interest to World War II enthusiasts.
 
Irian Jaya is a nature lovers paradise it has the richest concentration of plant life in Indonesia and perhaps in the world. With hundreds of species used in medicinal treatment, over 2,500 species of orchid including giant orchid of Rafflesia Arnoldii Amophophallus. The fauna is also very diverse with marsupials, reptiles, insects and approximately 1,500 varieties of bird including well-known bird of paradise (paradise spoda), crown pigeon (gonravictoria) and cassowary (casuarius).
 
The population of Irian Jaya is now an estimated 2 million people, the majority of which still live in the jungle. No one really knows exactly the ancestors of Irian. The people of Irian, black-skinned, and frizzy-haired, are physically very distinct from other Indonesians in the rest of the archipelago. There may also be a link connecting the Java man of a half million years ago to today`s Irianese. But in any event, it has been established that groups related to the Papuans and the Negritos were the true aboriginals of the Indo Melayan archipelago and the likely ancestors of today`s Irianese.
 
Today there are about 250 ethnic groups all speaking distinct languages and dialects. Most of the tribes still live a primitive life, farming, fishing and hunting for survial. The two most well known tribes of Irian Jaya are the Dani of the Baliem Valley and the Asmat of the south coast near Agats. Before missionaries came to introduce western religion, the natives of Irian were mostly animists. In remote areas animism is still practiced today. Two Christian missionaries, Dutch and a German, first arrived in Manokwari, Irian Jaya in 1855. Supported by the government these missionaries then founded schools, simple hospitals and churches. They also helped the local people learn Bahasa Indonesia, which is spoken in many areas of Irian Jaya today. Some of the missionaries even built air strips so small planes could reach remote villages. People living in the north, west and eastern part mostly confess Protestant while in the south they are Catholic. Some native people around Fak-Fak and Gala Ampat, Sorong are Muslim. As in many other regions of Indonesia, there still remains religious diversity.