The Yahukimo regency is located in Papua which is the easternmost province of Indonesia. The administrative and main city of Yahukimo regency is known as Dekai. Yahukimo was established in the year of 2002. The regency’s name is an acronym of its four main ethnic groups, the Yali, Hubia, Kimyal and Monuma. The idea of combining names of the four main ethnic groups in Yahukimo indirectly demonstrates the policy of inclusiveness under which the regency is governed.

Besides Dekai, Yahukimo is home to 45 districts altogether, some of these districts are remotely small with very small populations. The regency is 90% jungle and is sparsely settled. The only method to travel to some of these districts is by small flights, or by foot which will take days due to non-existing trekking paths.

Airport in Yahukimo

1. Nop Goliat Airport

Located in the administrative city, Dekai, the airport in Yahukimo is known as the Nop Goliat Airport. This airport terminal was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on 18 October 2016. Till this day, the Nop Goliat Airport remains as one of the seven pioneer airports that connect 517 villages in Yahukimo. The Nop Goliat Airport can accommodate to 300 passengers at its peak hours. However decent the terminal is though, flights are irregular and often the schedules are impacted heavily by adverse weather conditions. Currently, the commercial airlines that serve this airport are Wings Air and Trigana Air, both airlines flying to and from the Sentani Airport in Jayapura, Papua.

Get Cheap Flights to Yahukimo

To get cheap flights fares to Yahukimo, you can check out the Traveloka website. All you are required to do is key in your travel information into the search box, and the site will display a few flight timing and transfer options for you to choose from. For a more efficient way to minimize your search, you can make use of the filter feature. With Traveloka, your travel is always easy.

The Best Time to Fly to Yahukimo?

Being 90% heavily treed jungle and surrounded by mountainous valleys, the Yahukimo regency has a tropical climate with the average rainfall of 3778mm per year. Due to its geographic factors, even during the driest months in Yahukimo rainfalls are still very much significant. Yahukimo’s average temperature is about 26.6 °C. The warmest month of the year in December, with an average temperature of 27.3 °C. At 25.6 °C on average, July is the coldest month of the year. If you plan to travel to Yahukimo for the first time, you should expect irregular flight schedules. This is because weather conditions heavily influence flights to Dekai.

3 Things You Should Know Before Visiting Yahukimo

1. Geographic - The physical feature of Yahukimo is rich with nature. It is surrounded by exotic forest that is home to unique species of flora and fauna and most parts of the forest are still untouched. For the nature enthusiast, there are tourist guides that offer jungle trekking expeditions for you who enjoy the scenic outdoors. If you plan to take part in the jungle trekking expeditions, it is crucial for a visitor of Yahukimo to have the basic knowledge of jungle survival skills.

2. Economy - The main economy in Yahukimo is Agriculture and Farming. Yahukimo is blessed with fertile lands which are very suitable for its agriculture activities. The agriculture activities in Yahukimo is still practiced in the traditional ways with dominant plantations which include corn, sago, cassava and soy. You may visit the local markets and witness all the freshly harvested crops being sold. Besides agriculture, farming activities in Yahukimo is another main source of earning. Pigs breeding is the main farming source in Yahukimo. Others include chicken farming, cows, goats and rabbits.

3. Bakar Batu Feast - This is a traditional ritual that is conducted in the entire Papua province. The Bakar Batu Feast usually is to commemorate or welcome something as a symbol of gratefulness, such as the birth of a newborn in a village or a wedding, the inauguration of a head of the village, etc. During the Bakar Batu Feast, the entire village comes together to prepare ingredients and other things needed for this outdoor cooking activity. The women usually gather veggies, and men slaughter the pig, cow, goat or chicken. Traditionally pig is used in the cooking of this feast. However, Muslims in Papua has replaced that with other meat sources such as cow, goat or chicken. The men of the village will then light a massive fire and pile rocks over the fire. These rocks will be left to heat for a couple of hours until they become extremely hot, and the cooking will commence after that.