Krayan Highlands

A Highland Plateau On The Malaysian Border With No Road To The Rest Of Indonesia, Where Salt Is Boiled From Mountain Springs And Rice Is Grown Without Chemicals · Long Bawan, North Kalimantan

THERE IS NO ROAD INTO KRAYAN FROM THE REST OF INDONESIA. The plateau sits high on the Borneo border with Malaysia, ringed by forest, and everything arrives by SMALL AIRCRAFT OR ON FOOT FROM SARAWAK - which has shaped the place entirely. Prices are what air freight makes them. TWO THINGS COME OUT OF HERE. THE FIRST IS SALT: brine springs in the hills are boiled down in wood-fired sheds into hard cylinders of KRAYAN MOUNTAIN SALT, traded across Borneo for generations and prized well beyond the plateau. THE SECOND IS ADAN RICE, a fine aromatic upland rice grown WITHOUT CHEMICAL FERTILISER OR PESTICIDE because none can be flown in cheaply - an accidental organic agriculture that now carries geographical-indication protection. The people are LUNDAYEH, related to communities across the border, and the buffalo wander through the paddy. Flights are few, small and cancelled for weather constantly, so build in spare days and bring all the cash you need, because prices are whatever air freight makes them.

Krayan, Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan, Long Bawan, North Kalimantan, Indonesia

REACHED BY SMALL AIRCRAFT TO LONG BAWAN, generally from NUNUKAN, TARAKAN OR MALINAU - FLIGHTS ARE FEW, SMALL, SUBSIDISED AND FREQUENTLY CANCELLED FOR WEATHER, and cargo takes priority. BUILD IN SEVERAL SPARE DAYS; being weathered in for a week is a normal outcome. THERE IS ALSO A LONG-ESTABLISHED FOOT AND VEHICLE ROUTE FROM BA'KELALAN IN SARAWAK, which is an international crossing and requires proper immigration formalities - do not improvise it. ACCOMMODATION IS HOMESTAYS arranged through villages. THE SALT SPRINGS AND BOILING SHEDS are working operations visited by local arrangement, not attractions. BRING CASH - there is effectively no banking, and prices are high because everything flies in. Mobile signal and electricity are limited.

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