The Arfak Mountains is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...

found on the Bird's Head Peninsula in the Province of West Papua,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. The term "arfak" came from the language of the coastal

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The ...

people, meaning "inferior." This is due to how big the mountains are compared to other lowland areas found in this region. Located in the east and central regions of the Bird's Head Peninsula, these mountains rise steeply from the sea, with little or no coastal plain surrounding them.

Mount Arfak Mount Arfak is the highest point in the province of West Papua. It is located on north-east side of the Bird's Head Peninsula. It is a popular hiking area and is the highest peak of the Arfak Mountains. From the summit, Manokwari can be seen. Th ...

, at , can be viewed from the provincial capital,

Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under pro ...

, and is the highest point in West Papua and the Bird's Head Peninsula. Since Dutch colonial times the range has been one of the most frequently explored and best known regions of West Papua for

bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

. Along with the

Tamrau Mountains The Tamrau Mountains, also known as the Tambrauw Mountains or the Tamarau Mountains, is a mountain range located in the north central region of the Bird's Head Peninsula in the province of West Papua. It is made up of an isolated and lesser contin ...

in the north, the two ranges have been divided by the grassy Kebar Valley, which is the heartland of many indigenous people, with a variety of backgrounds. Found near the town of Manokwari, the mountains are an important and threatened site of

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

, part of the Vogelkop montane rain forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

. Multiple tribes of indigenous peoples, many who speak mutually unintelligible languages such as Hatam,

Meyah Meyah (Meax) is a West Papuan language spoken in Miyah District, Tambrauw Regency of West Papua, Indonesia. The Meyah language is agglutinative and head-marking and has no grammatical cases. It has subject-object-verb word order, which comes ...

and

Sougb Sougb, or Sogh, is a Papuan language of the East Bird's Head language family spoken in the east of the Bird's Head Peninsula to the east of Meyah and to the south of Manokwari, including the area of Soug Jaya District, Teluk Wondama Regency. It ...

all call the Arfak Mountains their home. They ultimately are the guardians of the future of the exquisite, yet increasingly threatened bird species found throughout this rugged region.

References

Arfak Mountains: Birding Hotspot of West Papua
Accessed 5 March 2015 * WWFbr>Bird Watching on Bird's Head
and the Threats to the Region Vogelkop Montane Rain Forests. Accessed 11 September 2006 Mountain ranges of Western New Guinea Landforms of West Papua (province) {{WPapua-geo-stub