Martapura

Martapura sits east of Banjarmasin and has been a diamond town for centuries: alluvial diamonds occur in the gravels of the Riam Kanan and neighbouring rivers, and they are worked at Cempaka nearby by hand in open pits, with teams digging, hauling and washing gravel in wooden pans in a way that has changed very little, alongside the cutting and polishing workshops in the town and the Cahaya Bumi Selamat market where cut stones, agate, amethyst and a large volume of ordinary costume jewellery are sold. The largest diamond found in Indonesia, the Trisakti at around 166 carats, came from Cempaka in 1965. Martapura is also a centre of Islamic learning in South Kalimantan, with a large pesantren and the tomb of a revered scholar drawing pilgrims.

What you actually see

• Hand-dug diamond pits - teams working the river gravels at Cempaka by hand.
• Cutting and polishing workshops - the trade in the town itself.
• A gem market - cut stones and a great deal of costume jewellery.
• A pesantren town - the Islamic school and the scholar's tomb drawing pilgrims.

When to go

May to September. A day.

Honest expectations

Diamond finds are rare and the diggings are hard manual work, not a show. Market sellers push hard and stone quality varies enormously - buy carefully or not at all. Martapura is conservative.

Nearby

Banjarmasin and its floating markets are west; the Meratus hills are east.