Indonesia - heaven on Earth

A new list of nominees has been released by New Seven Wonders of the World website and it places Indonesia in a convenient position. Not one but three of its natural heritage sites were placed on the list as nominees: Komodo Island, Lake Toba and Krakatau Island were nominated and could be part of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Two of the three nominees – Krakatau Island and Lake Toba are popular because of the volcanoes. The former is known for its active volcano while the latter is more popular because the lake surrounds two overlapping volcanoes. Lake Toba is already attracting thousands of tourists every year because of its pristine lake and beautiful flora and fauna. The volcanoes in Lake Toba were even believed to have the most powerful eruption as it had worldwide effect that lasted for at least a year more than 10,000 years ago.

The Komodo Island, as the name suggests, is home to the largest lizard today – the Komodo Dragon. But this beautiful island has more to offer than giant lizards. The flora and fauna, its rare species and the marine mammals will amaze any traveller. This area has been protected since 1965 and became a world heritage site in 1991.

These places in Indonesia are accessible to tourists but Krakatau (also called Krakatoa) Island and Komodo Island needs special permission before it could be visited. Lake Toba on the other hand, is open for all tourists.

Indonesian authorities in charge now aggressively campaigning for additional voting so that any of the three could be part of the final list of nominees.