Buru: Maluku’s Third Largest island

Rugged and rarely visited, the island of Buru is best known in Indonesia as a place where “communist” political prisoners used to be exiled in the Suharto era. The island was off-limits to outsiders back then, and though it is no longer the case, visitors are still very rare. Buru has some fine beaches and trekking possibilities through its mountainous interior centred on Danau Rana, though apart from a decent range of accommodation in Namlea, it offers almost no visitor facilities as such.