The Tanimbar Islands are in the Indonesian province of Maluku, at the end of the long arc of islands that stretches from Sumatra through Java, Bali, Lombok and down through Timor.

The largest island in the group is Yamdena, some seventy miles long and forty miles wide at its widest. To the north are Fordata and Larat, and to the south is the island of Selaru. Several islands lie to the West including Sera.