Tallest Mountains In Indonesia

Sudirman Range - Home of Puncak Jaya, Sumantri, Ngga Pulu, and Carstensz East

Indonesia's Sudirman Range Mountains is the location of the four tallest mountains in the country. Standing at a height of 16,024 feet (4,884 meters) tall, Puncak Jaya is the tallest mountain in all of Indonesia and Greater Oceania. After Puncak Jaya, the next three tallest mountains are Sumantri standing at 15,978 feet (4,870 meters) tall, Ngga Pulu standing at 15,951 feet (4,862 meters) tall and Carstenz East standing at 15,814 feet (4,820 meters) tall. Puncak Jaya, which is also called Carstensz Pyramid, had its snow covered peak first sighted by Dutch explorer Jan Carstenzoon in 1623, although it took over 200 years before anyone else could confirmed what he saw since no one in Europe believe that snow could be at the equator of the Earth. This was finally confirmed in 1909 when Hendrik Albert Lorentz, a Dutch explorer, reach the snowfield of Puncak Jaya with the help of several Dayak Kenyah porters.

Puncak Jaya was first climbed in February of 1962 by a multinational team including Austrian Heinrich Harrer, New Zealander Philip Temple, Australian Russel Kippax, and Dutchman Bert Huizenga. There are several glacier on the slopes of Puncak Jaua which have been rapidly melting and are predicted to be completely gone soon. The Sumantri mountain was first climbed by at the same time and by the same group as Puncak Jaya. A few remnants of the once mighty Northwall Firn glacier still cling to the southern part of the Sumantri mountain's peak. The Ngga Pulu mountain was first climbed in December of 1936 during the Dutch Carstenz Expedition by Frits Wissel, Jean Jacques Dozy and Anton Colijn. The mountain has lost height recent do to vast glacial melting, including the Northwall Firn glacier that it shared with Sumantri. Carsentz East is actually a sub peak of the Puncak Jaya mountain and it contains a small glacier that has been quickly retreating, similar to what is being seen on the glaciers on the other mountains around it. Carsentz East's first attempted was done on the same day and by the same climbers as Ngga Pulu's first ascent.

Jayawijaya Mountains - Puncak Mandala and Mount Yamin

The Jayawijaya Mountains Range in the Papua Province of Indonesia is where the fifth and eighth tallest mountains in the country are located. Standing at a height of 15,617 feet (4,760 meters) Puncak Mandala is the fifth tallest mountain in the country and Mount Yamin, which stands at a height of 14,895 feet (4,540 meters) is the eight tallest mountain. The Puncak Mandala is the second highest freestanding mountain in all of Indonesia and Oceania. Puncak Mandala is considered of the three high massifs in Western New Guinea and its peak used to have an ice cap, but it complexly disappeared by 2003. The mountain was first ascended on September 9, 1959 by Herman Verstappen, Arthur Escher, Max Tissing, Jan de Wijn and Piet ter Laag, who where all part of a Dutch expedition. Mount Yamin is the fourth tallest freestanding mountain in the Island of New Guinea, which includes the Indonesian region on Papua and the country of Papua New Guinea. Not much is known in regard to the mountain, as it has been poorly surveyed since it was named in 1913 and has never been known to have been climbed by an expedition.

Maoke Mountains - Puncak Trikora and Ngaa Pilimsit, J.P. Coen Peak, and Valentiyn

The Maoke Mountains range in the Papua Province of Indonesia is where the sixth, seventh, ninth, and tenth tallest mountains in the country are located. Standing at a height of 15,584 feet (4,750 meters), Puncak Trikora is the sixth tallest mountain in the country and Ngga Pilimsit, which stands at a height of 15,476 feet (4,717 meters), is Indonesia's seventh tallest mountain. J.P. Coen Peak stands at a height of 14,764 feet (4,500 meters) tall and Valentiyn stands at a height of 14,610 feet (4,453 meters). In the early 1900s the Noord River made exploring the Puncak Trikora mountain feasible for the Dutch colonists who controlled New Guinea until 1962. The third south New Guinea expedition by the Dutch was the first successful ascent of the mountain, with Alphons Franssen Herderschee, Paul François Hubrecht and Gerard Martinus Versteeg reaching the summit on February 21, 1913. The ice cap on the Puncak Trikora mountain melted at some point between 1936 and 1962. The Ngaa Pilimsit mountain was first ascended on February 12, 1962 in by Heinrich Harrer and Philip Temple. The Idenburg glacier on Ngga Pilimsit completely dried up a little more then a decade ago in 2003. Not much is known at all regarding either J.P. Coen Peak or Valentiyn, as they have never been surveyed or climbed.