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Samarinda is the capital of East Kalimantan, Indonesia, on both banks of the lower Mahakam River, famous for its giant Islamic Center Mosque, its river bridges and the Dayak culture of Pampang. Its top sights are the Islamic Center Mosque, Shiratal Mustaqiem Mosque, the Mahakam Bridge, Teras Samarinda and Pampang Cultural Village.
Its name is said to come from Samarenda, meaning equally low, after the Bugis houses built on rafts at the same height. Bugis settlers led by Lamohang Daeng Mangkona came here after the Gowa War, and Samarinda was formally made a city on 26 June 1959. It is known for the snack amplang and the sarung samarinda cloth.
Samarinda had 827,994 residents at the 2020 census and is the most populous city on Borneo. Four bridges cross the Mahakam within the city, and APT Pranoto International Airport at Sungai Siring has served Samarinda since 2018.
The Samarinda Islamic Center Mosque, officially Baitul Muttaqien, stands on the Mahakam River in Samarinda, Indonesia, and is one of the largest mosques in Southeast Asia. It has a huge dome and seven minarets, the main one 99 metres tall after the 99 names of Allah, on a former sawmill site.
Shiratal Mustaqiem Mosque is the oldest mosque in Samarinda, Indonesia, in Samarinda Seberang on the south bank of the Mahakam. Its four main pillars were raised in 1881 by Said Abdurachman, a Muslim trader from Pontianak, and it won second place in a festival of historic mosques in 2003.
Samarinda Cathedral, the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Perpetual Help, is the Catholic cathedral of Samarinda, Indonesia, seat of the Archdiocese of Samarinda. The Archbishop of Samarinda leads the Easter and Christmas masses here, and its parish also serves outlying stations around the city.
Maha Vihara Sejahtera Maitreya, also called the Buddhist Centre Samarinda, is a Buddhist temple on Jalan D.I. Panjaitan in Samarinda, Indonesia. Built from 2008 and opened on 7 March 2016, its three linked buildings cover 10,600 square metres, and it is called the largest in Southeast Asia.
Teras Samarinda is a public space on the bank of the Mahakam River along Jalan Gajah Mada in Samarinda, Indonesia. Its first stage, opened on 9 September 2024, covers 8,500 square metres, with walkways 500 metres long on two sides, an amphitheatre and a modern garden by the river.
Mahakam Bridge, or Mahkota I, is a steel truss bridge across the Mahakam River in Samarinda, Indonesia, linking the city centre with Samarinda Seberang. It is 400 metres long and 10 metres wide, was built from 1983 to 1986 and was opened by President Soeharto on 2 August 1986.
Mahakam IV Bridge, or Mahkota IV, crosses the Mahakam River in Samarinda, Indonesia, beside the Mahakam Bridge, so the pair are known as the Twin Bridge. It has a main span of 220 metres; work began in 2012 and ended in 2019, and it was opened on 2 January 2020.
Mahakam Ulu Bridge, or Mahulu, is a bridge over the Mahakam River in Samarinda, Indonesia, between Loa Buah and Sengkotek. It is about 800 metres long with a central span of 200 metres under a steel arch, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened it on 15 July 2009.
Pampang Cultural Village is a Kenyah Dayak village in North Samarinda, Indonesia, well outside the city centre. Its people came from Malinau and West Kutai in the 1960s, it has been a cultural village since 1991, and its Pemung Tawai longhouse is built wholly of ulin ironwood.
Citra Niaga is a trading centre of 2.7 hectares in Samarinda, Indonesia, built from 27 August 1987 for small and larger traders. Designed by the architect Antonio Ismael, it won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1989, and after a fire in 2006 it was rebuilt as a centre of traditional crafts.
The Pesut Monument is a landmark in Samarinda, Indonesia, at the Mall Lembuswana junction of Jalan Ahmad Yani and Jalan Cipto Mangunkusumo. About 8 metres high, it shows the abstract shape of the rare pesut of the Mahakam River in a steel frame wrapped in red recycled plastic cable.
Muladharma Vihara is a Theravada Buddhist temple in Samarinda, Indonesia, a place to meet monks, to meditate and to hear the Dhamma. Its design draws on the Wheel of Dharma, the lotus flower and Borobudur, mixing square and round forms, with living, religious and teaching facilities.
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Log in to add photosPhoto: Sri Wahyuni Nur Indah Sari, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Sri Wahyuni Nur Indah Sari, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Sri Wahyuni Nur Indah Sari, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Fandy Aprianto Rohman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Fandy Aprianto Rohman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Fandy Aprianto Rohman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Fandy Aprianto Rohman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Fandy Aprianto Rohman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Sri Wahyuni Nur Indah Sari, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Sri Wahyuni Nur Indah Sari, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Sri Wahyuni Nur Indah Sari, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Fandy Aprianto Rohman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Antonius Venta Wiwaha, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Antonius Venta Wiwaha, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Fandy Aprianto Rohman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Fandy Aprianto Rohman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
