One of Indonesia's popular holiday resorts is Bali - the 'Island of Gods'. The landscape of Bali is made up of volcanic mountains, lakes and rivers, terraced rice fields, and bays ringed with white sandy beaches. Bali offers a wide variety of activities and sights - from golden beaches to evergreen rice fields, markets and handicraft shops for bargain hunters, and wild nightlife. Spend your time lazing in the sun, surfing the beaches, white water rafting and bungy jumping; or visit the magnificent temples, and authentic wood carving and craft centres.  

The world’s fourth most populous nation, Indonesia is the largest Islamic country, with some 173 million Muslims. About 300 ethnic groups speak 365 local dialects on more than 13,660 islands.  

After independence from the Netherlands in 1949, the republic confronted a high birthrate, low productivity, and illiteracy—areas in which progress has since been made. In the late 1980s mining, manufacturing, and tourism absorbed many of the two million who entered the job market each year. Efforts are being made to reduce dependence on petroleum and natural gas, which in 1993 accounted for close to 30 percent of export earnings. Logging and rice cultivation continue to consume the rain forest—the world’s second largest, after Brazil’s.