Lush nature, beautiful landscapes, astonishing biodiversity, and breath-taking wilderness? If you are a traveler who seeks adventure in a remote place that hasn’t been overtaken by mass tourism, don’t hesitate to hit up Zambia and Zimbabwe. Activities here will take you on the scenic trekking trails, in a chase with the rapids of the Zambezi river, and up-close with some of the most extraordinary species on the planet. Feeling inspired to marvel at all this and much more? Explore the suggested adventurous activities below!

Trekking in Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands

The Eastern African Highlands is a mountainous area spread over hundreds of kilometers in the most eastern part of Zimbabwe, right on the border with Mozambique. With countless trekking trails, some of which are adorned with majestic waterfalls and calm rivers, the area will take your breath away with its steep but beautiful peaks, hills covered in flourishing pine trees, and startling views. Notable sights include Mtazari Falls, Chimanimani Mountains, and Chirinda Forest Reserve.

White Water Rafting on the Zambezi River

If you are always on the lookout for some thrill while traveling, the two countries in Southern Africa will not disappoint you. Especially when it comes to rafting. There is no better place to practice this adventurous activity than the Zambezi River. White water rafting enthusiasts are well aware of its reputation for being one of the wildest one-day rafting trips in the world. The Zambezi rapids plunge through Zimbabwe and Zambia, and the prime season for rafters is between August and December.

Walking Safaris in South Luangwa National Park

The best way to see wildlife and see it well is to go on a walking safari. Led by well-trained, armed guides that know the local bush like the back of their hand, you will be able to experience close encounters with elephants, wild dogs, buffaloes, and sometimes lions and leopards. You’ll get the chance to watch a real-life lion catch its prey or a majestic leopard tread the savannah just a few meters away. The walking tours through the South Luangwa National Park in Eastern Zambia can be thrilling, but you also get to quietly marvel at all that nature has to offer you and soak it all in.

When you are skimming through your Instagram feed, you probably have run across beautiful pictures of places like Java or Bali. Tourists from all over the world flock to Indonesia to experience the wide range of landscapes and interesting cultures. With that being said, we thought you might want to learn about some bizarre yet fascinating facts about Indonesia to prepare you for your next trip!

Every major city needs a good stadium, and that includes the island nation of Indonesia. In fact, they have one of the largest stadiums in the world. The stadium is called Gelora Bung Karno stadium, and it is located in Jakarta.

In 1962, the Asian Games came to Jakarta. The stadium was finished that year and can seat more than 100,000 people. This makes it the second-largest stadium in the world. That’s quite a whopper!

If you are looking to see Komodo dragons in their natural habitat, you will just have to board a flight to Indonesia. This lizard is the biggest one in the world and can grow to be almost 10 feet long. It is also one of the many endangered species located here.

The first time that anyone saw a Komodo dragon was in 1910, and because of their size, they were hunted to near extinction. This is very unfortunate as they are the only real dragons that remain! Pretty cool, right?

Have you ever seen a flower that weighs as much as a medium-sized dog? Yeah, we also hadn’t until now. If you do want to see one up close and personal then you can head over to Sumatra, which is part of Indonesia. The official name of this species of flower is the Rafflesia arnoldii.

The world’s largest flower can weigh up to a whopping 15 pounds! One petal can measure over 1.5 feet and is an inch thick. This flower kind of reminds us of that plant from Little Shop of Horrors.

Indonesia is packed full of people with a population of over 270 million. One of the biggest studies when analyzing the population rate is looking at the average age of the population.

It was found that Indonesia has one of the largest youth populations in the world that makes up 28% of the total residents. Another statistic released found that there are over 68 million youths aged 10 to 24 living here.

You might not find this a bizarre fact, but Indonesia has the second-largest coastlines globally. Coming in behind Canada, the country has over 54,000km of ocean. And with so many islands attached to this archipelago, this makes sense.

The country is actually pretty well known for the beaches that line this coastline. Along with these picture-perfect beaches, there are sheer rock faces buried in vegetation. We wonder how long it would take to travel through all the coastlines!

Island nations often have to deal with major disasters like hurricanes and tsunamis. In 2004, Indonesia was hit by one of the most devastating tsunamis ever recorded. The December 2004 disaster badly struck the area of Aceh, Indonesia.

They found themselves having to bury at least 230,000 people. This was known as the most deaths by a natural disaster ever at the time. The tsunami affected the whole nation, but this small area felt the brunt of it.

In Indonesia, you will find a special soy sauce that is used quite frequently. This soy sauce is sweet, unlike the soy sauce we are all used to that is salty. This sauce is called kecap. Doesn’t that sound like something we all use on a regular basis?

The word for this sauce actually is the root word for ketchup. It makes sense since ketchup is known to be a sweet sauce. We bet you didn’t know this was where your favorite sauce for fries came from!

Because of its vastness, Indonesia is home to many different religions. The government itself recognizes six religions which include Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Confucianism.

When it comes to the religion of Islam, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. You might be surprised by this, as we know we were. This is why it’s great to have us in order to teach you these interesting facts!

An archipelago is a group of islands that were formed by volcanic eruptions or tectonic shifts. There are many of these scattered throughout the world, and Indonesia is one of these special countries. Some island chains are small, while others are rather large.

Indonesia is actually the largest archipelagos in the world. The country contains around 17,508 islands. Among these islands include popular ones like Papua, Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi. All in all, there are five major islands with 30 smaller groups.

The country might be small in comparison to other countries when you think about a continual landmass. But as we mentioned, these islands are home to a massive population. Can you think of a common irritation that comes with a surplus of people?

We hope you guessed traffic jams because this image sort of gave it away. Interestingly enough, the capital city of Jakarta has some of the worst traffic known to man. This is due to the fact that the city has no high-speed train.

Mining is a very lucrative industry in a lot of countries, and that includes Indonesia. All in all, there is one big mine that is mined for both gold and copper. The copper part of the Grasberg mine is listed as the third-largest in the world.

The gold mine, though, is the one that really puts Indonesia on the map when it comes to mineral deposits. The gold portion of the mine actually registers as the largest gold mine in the world. Not bad at all!

Volcanoes often create new landscapes, and what is actually formed depends on how big the eruption was. Because this nation is an island nation, it has many different active and inactive volcanoes.

Lake Toba is the biggest volcanic lake in the world. The lakes were created after a supervolcanic eruption that took place over 50,000 years ago. That eruption may well have been the biggest eruption ever as it was considered an extinction-level event.

While Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, there is also a large Buddhist population. That may be why the Borobudur temple was built on the island of Java. No surprise here, this temple is the biggest one ever built.

When you visit this site, you will be greeted by a temple that is designed with over 2500 reliefs. There are also over 500 Buddha statues. If you happen to visit Indonesia, you better check out this crazy cool temple!

There are a lot of islands across the globe, but three of the largest are encompassed in the nation of Indonesia. Pretty impressive, right? The nation has islands that come in as the second, third, and sixth places on a list of the largest islands in the world.

Coming in second on the list is Guinea. Borneo takes the third slot, and Sumatra is in the 6th slot. Makes sense to us, but even still, it is something we didn’t know.

When you think of flowers, you often think of sweet smells that can bring warm memories to your mind. But there is a flower that is native to Indonesia that goes against this thought. The Amorphophallus Titanum is the stinkiest flower in the world.

It is a large flower that, when it blooms, releases a smell that can be compared to the stench of rotten meat. The scent can be smelled for over half a mile away. Maybe you can skip touring this flower upon your trip to Indonesia.

If you are like us, then you probably are not huge fans of snakes. So, when visiting Indonesia you should be mindful of the fact that it is home to the longest snake that has ever been found.

In Sulawesi in 1912, explorers came across a snake that measured over 32 feet long. The Reticulated Python has held this title since then. Even the sight of it is sending shivers down our spine. Our heading says it all!

You may not know where it is, but most of us learned about the volcanic eruption of the famous Krakatoa. That is right, the mighty volcano is part of the Indonesian archipelago and is still quite active.

Of course, the most famous eruption of the volcano happened back in 1883. This eruption caused a disastrous tsunami and ended up taking over 30,000 peoples’ lives. The effects of this eruption were felt globally!

Jakarta may be one of the most famous places in Indonesia. It is also one of the main hubs for the country’s financial industry, and that means that there are many people who call this city home.

The population of this city falls somewhere around 10 million people. With that many bodies living their lives in this city, it finds itself in the top 15 of the world’s largest cities.

Sometimes there are traditions in cultures that, when looked at from the outside, seem very strange. But once you take the time to learn about them, you may find them interesting. For us, one of these was the teeth filing that happens in Bali.

The people there believe that there are six big vices, and these can get into you through your teeth. So they file their teeth to keep this from happening. Creepy stuff!

If you went to college or are in college currently, then you are intimately acquainted with the wonderful taste of Ramen. And if you are anything like us, you’ll always wish they were just a little bit bigger.

But not this big. Indonesia is home to the Guinness World Record holder for the largest pack of Ramen noodles. This packet weighed in at just under 1500 lbs. Now that is a lot of noodles!

Frog legs may be something you associate with France or even as part of Southern cuisine in the US. That is an accurate correlation, but not all the frog’s legs you eat in those places actually come from that country.

Indonesia, with its heavily water-based landscape and humidity, is home to a lot of frogs. This may be why almost five tons of frog legs are exported across the globe from the nation’s harbors.

Football (or soccer if you’re from the US) is one of, if not the most, popular sports. It has been this way for decades which is why the FIFA World Cup is so widely watched across the globe.

But did you know that under the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia was the first Asian country to qualify for the World Cup? Back in 1938, they beat Hungary to make their way into the competition. Pretty impressive if you ask us!

If you enjoy a good pumpkin spice latte in the fall, then you would probably like a little nutmeg. The spice is prevalent in almost any fall recipe and gives a unique flavor to whatever you put it in. But do you know where that spice comes from?

It comes from a lot of places, actually, but one of the major exporters of nutmeg is Indonesia. In fact, the spice is native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia. What a spicy thing to know, get it?

If you are a person that likes to memorize flags, you may look at the Indonesian flag and say to yourself, “I have seen that somewhere before.” The flag of the nation has one bar of red and one bar of white.

The twin flag that you might be thinking of is the Polish flag, but the colors are in reverse. Surprisingly, it is most similar to the Monaco flag. The only difference is that the Indonesian flag is longer than the one for Monaco.

The space race was real in the ’60s and ’70s. But mostly bigger countries entered the race. That would change in 1976 when Indonesia finally entered and shocked the world. In July of that year, they launched the Palapa 1.

This made them the trend starter when it came to developing countries. The launch was not a shuttle but rather a satellite system that was created and operated by the nation. Way to go Indonesia!

In 1945, Indonesia proclaimed its independence from the Netherlands. In order to celebrate this, the Indonesian flag was raised along with the playing of Indonesia Raya. This anthem was written almost 20 years before its selection as the national anthem.

The writer of this anthem was Wage Rudolf Supratman. He actually wrote the anthem as an answer to a challenge he read in Timbul magazine. Unfortunately, he would not be alive to see it become the anthem.

With so many islands and such a diverse range of environments, Indonesia is home to a pretty wide selection of animals. We have already talked about the Komodo dragon, but there are more than a hundred endangered animals that call this archipelago home.

These rare and exotic animals include species like the Sumatran tiger, sea turtles, Anoa, and Merak. Being such a small landmass, it is amazing to see that so many animals can be found.

The primary language of Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesian. However, it is not the only language that can be found on the islands. In total, in the nation of Indonesia, there are more than 700 languages cataloged.

For instance, in the area known as Papua, you can find more than 250 different languages spoken. That is pretty unbelievable, and we are sure it causes a little bit of a language barrier from city to city.

There is a part of the Pacific Ocean that is known as the “Ring of Fire”, and Indonesia is part of this region. This area of the globe has the most active fault lines, and it can be found running from Chile to Southeast Asia.

Because of this, Indonesia finds itself home to over 100 different active volcanoes. They also experience up to four small earthquakes every day. Now that’s a crazy fact to hold on to!

Most island chains are basically the tips of underwater mountain ranges. So you can imagine many of them have pretty large mountains on them. However, Indonesia has the tallest one coming in at just under 5000m above sea level.

This peak is called Mount Jayawijaya, and it is on the island of Papua. Because of the height of this mountain, it is the only place that in the winter months, you will find snow in Indonesia. What a sight!

Another one of the world’s endangered species is the mighty Orangutan. Indonesia is home to many places where you can see these majestic creatures in their natural habitat. The name itself even comes from the Indonesian language.

These great apes are currently only found in Borneo and Sumatra. However, during the Pleistocene, they were found in South China and throughout Southeast Asia.

Travel and Instagram go hand in hand. There is just something about capturing and sharing your memories with the world that feels gratifying and changes the vibe of a trip. Indonesia’s biggest city Jakarta is a place that is known to be Instagram-worthy.

In fact, in 2017 this city even found its place on the list of the top 10 cities that are most Instagrammed. The Betawi village is one of the most unique and Instagrammable spots that Jakarta has to offer so remember to visit it on your next trip!

In the 1600s, Britain and the Netherlands were a pretty formidable force when it came to exploration and colonization. So, it was inevitable that the two would have to make some deals when it came to land.

In 1664, the Dutch wanted to get rid of some land in the New World. This island was called New Amsterdam, which would later become known as Manhattan. This island was then traded for a small island in Indonesia called Run. Nothing like a geography lesson!

In 1696 the colonization of the East Indies had already begun, and with the Dutch came the coffee plant. It turns out the soil in Java, part of Indonesia, was really great for growing the plant.

Though not native to the island, the crop soon became pretty prominent. Eventually, coffee became known as Java because of the origin of the crops of coffee that were being shipped out.

Since the early 2000s, there have been more than 45 air accidents that have taken place on Indonesian soil. Due to safety precautions, the EU only permits seven Indonesian airlines to fly within their skies. This means that 55 Indonesian airlines are still banned.

However, a budget Indonesian airline known as Lion Air is set to quintuple their amount of planes. They currently have a stock of 113 and they plan to add 443 more. No other airline is waiting on so many planes.

Indonesia is known as an upper-middle income country and is even a member of the G20. Recently, it became classified as an industrialized country with its economy coming in as the 15th largest in the world.

The economy relies on agriculture and oil as the large majority of the population is involved in agriculture. In terms of the country’s GDP (Gross domestic product), it places seventh the world.

There are only a handful of places in the world that has as rich of a biodiverse nature as Indonesia. With tons of plants and organisms that live in the thousands of islands that combine to create Indonesia, it is an eco-adventure waiting to happen.

In fact, there is just one more place as diverse, and that’s Brazil. The islands are home to flora and fauna that are only found here. That is so cool and original, right?!

It is hard to believe that a game that is common in Indonesia would actually find its roots in Egypt, but that is preciously the case. Conglak is a game played on a board that is carved from wood. The board has seven cups, and the aim is to get all your pieces into your home cup.

This game is likely to have found its way to the island with Arab traders. Conglak is actually one of the oldest games in the world. How do you think you would do playing a round of this ancient game?

One of the used seasonings across the globe is pepper. There are so many recipes that require this seasoning, and though not native to the island, there is a lot of it exported from Indonesia. Interestingly enough, pepper has been on the island for over a thousand years.

The spice was brought to the island by explorers from South India way back in 600 BC. Primarily the spice finds a home on the islands of Java and Sumatra.

Palm oil is something that is used in everything from food products to cleaning supplies and so much more. It is also something that has been discussed as being a contributor to some heart issues. But even still, it is a major export in several places.

The largest exporter of palm oil is in none other than Indonesia. This means that there is a little part of Indonesia in several products you have in your home right now.

Bet you didn’t know that the phrase “Running amok” comes from the beautiful island nation of Indonesia! The word is a shortened version of the Indonesian word, “mengamuk.”

This means to charge with anger and desperation. The idea even plays a part in the spiritual beliefs of the people as well. The condition was said to be instigated by an evil tiger spirit.

Many countries have an area in certain cities set aside for nightly adult entertainment. Though most of us probably think of a “red light” district, you automatically turn to Amsterdam. Turns out, the Capital of the Neverlands has got some competition.

In fact, before 2014, if you wanted to go to the largest one in the world, you would have to head down to Indonesia. This area was called Dolly and had quite a large number of ladies employed in it.

In the late 1800s, one of the first human fossils was found. At the time, the Java Man was then called Homo Erectus. This discovery was made by a Dutch doctor in, you guessed it, Java.

This was the first big discovery there, but since then, there have been several other major discoveries. It is estimated that the Java man is between 700,000 and 1,000,000 years old.

Indonesia is home to some interesting cultures, and one of these is the Batak people. These people live on an island in Lake Toba, and though they are friendly now, they were once known for their hostility.

The Batak were once not only headhunters but actually cannibals. You can visit the island and learn all about this part of their history and see some incredible ruins. Don’t worry, though, you won’t lose your head nowadays!