Belitung (in English, Billiton) is an island in the Java Sea off the eastern coast of Sumatra, about 400 kilometres northeast of Jakarta. Long known for tin and pepper, it has more recently gained attention as a beach destination — its granite boulders, crystal-clear turquoise water, and relative lack of development make for a compelling combination.
The island's main town is Tanjung Pandan, where most accommodation and transport connections are based. The most photographed spot is Tanjung Kelayang, where improbably large granite formations rise from the sea and the water runs a vivid blue-green. Island-hopping trips to the surrounding islets — particularly Lengkuas Island with its 1882 Dutch lighthouse — are the main tourist activity. Tanjung Tinggi Beach, with its extraordinary boulder formations, is the island's most photographed location.
Belitung came to wider attention as the setting of the novel and film Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Troops), a beloved story of schoolchildren in a tin-mining village. The Laskar Pelangi Museum in Gantong has made the island a literary pilgrimage for Indonesian readers.
The island was under British control briefly after 1812 before being ceded to the Dutch under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.