|
South
Kalimantan 's Wealth to Explore
SOUTH KALIMANTAN
South Kalimantan is the smallest province in
Kalimantan. Geographical, South Kalimantan is dominated by the Meratus
Mountain Range, a long and wide chain which stretches from north to
south over the biggest part of the province with it's highest peak of
1900 meter. The highway from South to East Kalimantan, the Barito River
and is biggest downstream sideriver, the Martapura, are still very
important for trade and communication with the hinterlands. Along the
coast the landscape is formed by swamps, some has turned into
ricefields by some farmers.
With over 2,5 milion inhabitants on 37.660 sq.km, South Kalimantan has
the most densely populated province at Kalimantan Island. Mayority of
them are Banjarese,among the minority Dayak Ma'anyan, Lawangan, Bukit
and Ngaju. Also some Arabs, and Chineze can be found here. The
Banjarese langguage is closely related to the Malay.
HISTORY OF SOUTH KALIMANTAN
The Banjarese think that their roots are to be found in a legendaric
old hindu-principalty. The wife of the first raja should have been
emerged from a huge cloud of white foam - just like the Greek goddess
Aprhodite. Her birth was seen by a stunned public, among them the ruler
Lambung Mangkurat. The ruler survived three generations, while he
helped building the new principalty of Negara Dipa. The main street in
Banjarmasin and the museum in KalSel are named after him. The story
goed that the ruines od Candi Agung, a hinduist structure in the
hinterlands, are the fundaments of the history of KalSel. There is a
second old hinduist temple in the district of Tupin, Candi Laras. Both
temples are not worth for visiting.
The history of KalSel started in the 13th century. Ampoedjatamaka, son
of a trader from India, founded a settlement which would later grow
into the city opf Banjarmasin. Three generationa later, the daughter
married with the ruler of the Majapahit-prince of Jawa. This made
Negara Dipa a supported state of the mighty Majapahit principalty. The
name Negara Dipa was changed into Banjar (the later sultanate
Banjarmasin) for undisclosed reasons.
The influence of Majapahit could be seen everywhere. Local laws were
replaced and Jawanese workers built new palaces. In cultural means the
wayang-puppets, gamelan-orchestras, topeng-masks, art- and dance-styles
and metal decorations remember of this period. They are still being
practiced however Banjar - just like the rest of Indonesia - came under
islamic influence not long after.
In 1620 a local battle for power was decided by military support from
the Jawanese principalty Demak. In trade the Banjarese converted to
islam. De religion had a big influence on every day life and the art.
Due to the widespread islamic trade network, contacts emerged between
Jawa and the coastal area of Gujarat in India. To be able to compete
with the spice trade, Banjar planted peper bushes. The population
spread it's influence over the surrounding areas,
wich were forced to pay taxes, or came under political control. In wich
is called the Golden Century of Banjar, the people settled rule in the
small sultanated along the southern coast, and next in big parts of
Kalimantan: Sukadana, Sambas and Ganggau in the west and Pasir, Kutai
and Berau in the east. The Banjarese sultanate was brought down by the
Dutch. Weakened by internal problems, the Banjarese had to see that the
whites placed a puppet on the throne. In 1860, the Dutch declared the
sultanate banned, and Banjarmasin (in special the city of Martapura)
became the kolonial headquarters of Dutch Borneo. Between 1860 and 1864
the Banjarese revolted under Pangeran Antasari (the Banjarmasin War),
which lasted until the end of the 19th century in the form of scattered
revolts.
BANJARMASIN CITY
With it's many attractions, the capital Banjarmasin is the most
interestin urbanized area of Kalimantan. The nearby islands in the
Barito River are inhabited by hurds of monkeys. In the hinterlands,
buffalo's pull carts over a paved road to the diamond-fields of
Cempaka, and to Martapura, where the gemstones are processed.
Banjarmasin has many hotels and good restaurants. The floating markt
each morning at the Barito river is a happening, and a visit worth.
Paved road connects Banjarmasin with East Kalimantan Province. Over
water there are connections with Palangkaraya, capital of Kalteng and
with cities along the Barito, from where the hinterlands can be
explored. There are also good connections available through the air.
SWAMPS
Historically,South Kalimantan has 50% of Indonesians swamps, but
nowadays the region lived from the big surplusses of rice and other
products wich are grown on the alluvial soils of dry swamps. But
besides the fertile soil, the region has not always been used for
agriculture. Banjarese farmers have done a lot of work by drying up the
tidal swamps, which were changed into ricefields in a skilled way.About
100,000 hectares of swamps were turned into agricultural area, more
than in the other provinces of Kalimantan.The government helped with
the development of different kinds of rice, which have a high yield in
the swamps. Due to irrigation programs, there can be two or three
harvests every year. The production has been increased more because of
the introduction of two new kinds of rice, which are planted directly
in the swamps. Because the waterlevel can sometimes reach two meters,
boats are used for the harvest.
With the help of modern methods, new kinds of rice and the irrigation
of about 500,000 hectares of soil, the rice production has dramatically
increased in the last decade of the 20th century. The surplus is being
exported, especially to Central and East-Kalimantan.
EXPORT PRODUCTS
As well as elsewhere in Kalimantan, wood is the main export product,
especially to the US and Japan. Besides 13 plywood factories there are
43 wood-processing factories, where most of the workers are Jawanese.
The Banjarese mainly choose for agriculture and trade over the hard
work in the factory. After wood, rubber is the most important export
product. It's the most common trade crop in the villages. Furthermore
is ratten which is exported to Japan, and frozen river shrimps to Japan
and Singapore. Ratten from Central Kalimantan is being processed in
South Kalimantan, Also Rubber from East Kalimantan is processed in
South Kalimantan. Amuntai is the ratten-centre, but the big factories,
where mostly women and girls work, are located in Banjarmasin. Big
deposits of iron ore, porcelain soil and limestone are ready to be
mined in the Meratus Mountain Range. The diamond fields of Cempaka give
labour to a few hundred people, and a few more are looking for gold in
the small streams.
DE'GIGANT
TOURS™
With the Kalimantan
Responsible Tourism Principe, We have a commitment
to Sustaining the exotic Rainforest Flora & Fauna of Borneo's
and indigenous Dayak culture, funding rehabilitation projects for
Orangutan, Fresh Water Dolphins, and other wild life of Kalimantan.
Save rivers clean water and Environment, develop environmental
awareness and educate locals, conservation groups and indigenous
communities to increase awareness and encourage protection of the
environment, wildlife and host cultures for Conservation and Tourism.
Each client who will do a reservation with us will plant a tree for
free, to help the re-forestation and protect the earth from the global
warnings.
De'gigant Tours™ as a Kalimantan Tour Operator in Indonesia,
is able to
serve your Holiday with Traveling Routes to the Deep interior of Mystic
Borneo /
Kalimantan Island, to make your vacation a real holiday, for
Backpackers till exclusive deluxe tour itineraries. From Jungle
trekking, of the beaten track forest trails, to Dayak indigenous
Culture, Adventure trips, River Cruise Safari, in area's as the
Apokayan, Kayan River, Mahakam River, Barito River, Rungan
River, Kahayan River, Katingan River, Kapuas River, Mount Meratus,
Kutai National Park, Samboja Sungai Wain Orangutan & Sun Bear
Reserve, Kayan
Mentarang Reserve, Tanjung Puting National Park, visit Camp Leakey
Orang Utan
Rehabilitation Center, Orangutan tours, Tangkiling National Park,
Gunung
Palung National Park, Danau Semantrum National Park, Kersik Luwai
Orchid Reserve, Diving at Derawan Islands, Longhouse Tours, Dayak
Hunting Tours, Mahakam Dolphin Tours, Safari tours to Sabah,
Sarawak etc, etc.
Also
Hotel bookings &
Reservation, Taxi / Car rental service, Boat
rental, Flight bookings and a lot more can be arranged. Our goal is to
make your experience at Borneo
as memorable, personal and amazing as your wish! We will always be
chasing
this aim, to change our programs in order to meet all of your
tourists / business needs, but we will never change our services!
Should you
have any questions or further queries, please don't
hesitate to contact our professional and friendly staff for your
questions.
We will give you the best quotation for the competition and we assure
you
that the extraordinary variety of tours, friendly service, attention to
detail and excellent value you have come to know and expect from
De'gigant Tours™,
Travel Service.
Group, Private Tailor Made, or Special Interest
Tour Programs
Our
Tailor
Made programs for the individual or small group size,
honeymoon trip, research expeditions, or film teams with special
interest can be made upon your wishes, all you have to do is sent us an
e-mail with your “detailed” request, and we will
make a program as personal and memorable for you, we will never change
our service as you can expect from us, and will always chaise this aim.
For Tailor made programs, special request, or private small group size
tours, please visit our Kalimantan Tourism
Destination Guide
site, or navigate direct for
more detail tour and travel information of a specific Kalimantan
destination at the left table (below) on this site, which can help
to create your own Kalimantan tour program. If you still have
questions, please don't hesitate to contact us, at the address as you
can find at the
bottom of this page.
Our
Regular Group Tour
Programs Covering Whole Indonesian Borneo.These
Programs are for the minimum group size of four (4) persons. The main
category of the Programs are Culture, Nature, and Adventure or a
combination of it. Our standard programs can be found at
Tour Programs
Site from where you
can choose a Kalimantan tour package or make
a combination of two or more Kalimantan packages. Our Kalimantan Tour
Packages covering whole Borneo.
For information
crossing the
borders between Sabah or Sarawak and
Indonesian Borneo, please see our Get There site
where you can find information on how
and where to
cross the border, or just sent us a request e-mail, we can help to
arrange itineraries and permits for crossing the Malaysian to
Indonesian border.
May our site be
helpful for
you, we couldn't tell and write you all
here, there is much more to explore, if you need more Information for
traveling at Kalimantan , we will help you to find the solution, as we
know that each traveler is different.
If you have any
inquiries or
questions,
please feel free to
contact
us
by Phone or M@il For more Information or a Reservation.
|
Cities of Borneo