Raja Ampat Islands in Papua, Indonesia)

Raja Ampat

     Raja Ampat Islands is a series of four adjacent islands located in the western part of the Bird's Head (Vogelkoop) Papua Island. Administratively, it is under the cluster of Raja Ampat, West Papua Province. The islands are now a destination for divers who are interested in the beauty of the underwater scenery. The four islands that belong to the four named after its largest island, which Waigeo Island, Misool Island, Salawati Island, and Batanta Island.

Raja Ampat

     Raja Ampat Islands is a great potential to be used as a tourist attraction, especially the dive. Raja Ampat Islands waters according to various sources, is one of the 10 best waters for diving sites around the world. In fact, it may also be recognized as number one for the completeness of underwater flora and fauna at this time.

Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat

     Dr. John Veron, coral experienced experts from Australia, for example, in a site he revealed, the Raja Ampat Islands located at the westernmost tip of New Guinea, about 50 miles northwest of Sorong, has the best reef areas in Indonesia. Approximately 450 species of coral had been identified during the two weeks of research in that area.

     A team of experts from Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Institute of Oceanography (LON) Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) have done a quick assessment in 2001 and 2002. As a result, they noted in these waters there are more than 540 hard coral species (75% of the total species in the world), more than 1,000 types of reef fish, 700 species of mollusks, and the highest record for gonodactyloid stomatopod crustaceans. This makes 75% of the world's coral species in Raja Ampat. Nowhere the same area has a number of coral species as much as this.

Diving photograph

 

Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat

 

Raja Ampat

 

Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat

Surface photograph

Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat

    Visiting these islands is not too difficult although it takes time and big enough expense. We can use the airline's flights from Jakarta to Sorong via Manado for 6 hour flight. From Sorong-town big enough and quite complete facilities for exploring the Raja Ampat-there are two choices, take a boat tour with pinisi or staying in the resort of Papua Diving. Although most of the tourists who come to Raja Ampat is currently divers, actual location is interesting also for non-divers as tourists also have white sandy beaches are very beautiful, clusters of karst islands nan fascinating and unique endemic flora and fauna like Cendrawasih red, Cendrawasih Wilson, maleo Waigeo, various parrots and parrot, possum Waigeo, as well as various types of orchids.

Phinisi Ship at Raja Ampat

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