The topography of Jayapura varies from valleys to hills, plateaus, and mountains up to 700 metres (2,300 ft) above sea level. Jayapura overlooks the Yos Sudarso Bay. Jayapura is about 94,000 hectares (230,000 acres) in area, and is divided into five districts. Around 30% of the area is inhabited, with the remainder consisting of a rough terrain, swamps, and protected forest. The average temperature is 29–31.8 °C (84.2–89.2 °F).

Before its inclusion into the colonial government of the Dutch Indies, the location of present-day Jayapura was known as Numbay. Before the arrival of the Dutch there was an active trade in Numbay, centered on the Island of Metui Debi and the area where the former Gereja Pengharapan ("Church of the Favor of God") stood, in Sam Ratulangi Road, being most active between 1897 and 1905. The mode of the trade was through barter for spices, cassava, salted fish and bird-of-paradise. The society of Numbay was led by an ondoafi (chief of the tribe). In the 1800s, Numbay maintained relations with the Ternate Sultanate.

When someday comes you'll need to get in.

When someday comes you'll need to be able to get around.