If diving is not your thing, snorkeling in Raja Ampat, West Papua is just as impressive. (Burufly Photo).
Far away from the madding crowd, a treasure that’s been a secret for decades, the glorious marine life of West Papua now has become the crown jewel of Indonesia tourism industry.
If you told someone that you have been to Raja Ampat — whose name is now synonymous with the ultimate tropical getaway — people will be excited to hear details about it. West Papua, however, still hides magnificent marine and culture attractions waiting to be discovered.
Though accommodation is very limited, the many islands in one of the youngest provinces in Indonesia, is indeed a sailable paradise.
With less than a million population, West Papua only has several cities in its region. Manokwari, the province’s capital, might be small in size, but it offers plenty of choices for places to stay and perfect starting point for your journey to Cendrawasih Bay.
Fakfak, which means the peel or outer layer of a nutmeg in local dialect, is a sleepy coastal town built by the Dutch and home to several major oil companies. It has unforgettable picturesque panorama towards Seram Sea.
Bintuni, a small city by the sea, is famous for giant crabs and bird watching. And Sorong, a city easternmost of Papua, is famous for being as the main gate to the province’s main attraction, the Raja Ampat Islands.
Batanta, Misool, Salawati and Waigeo are four biggest islands in the archipelago of hundreds of islands and islets that is known as Raja Ampat. As the largest national marine parks in the country which is remotely located in the eastern part of Indonesia, Raja Ampat has diverse reef systems and a dazzling setting that was hailed by Newsweek magazine as one of the new seven wonders of the world in 2006.
Plenty of natural treasures of West Papua are waited to be discovered, such as the idyllic Triton Bay. (Burufly Photo).
The natural riches of the Coral Triangle, as the area is widely known, had attracted the famous French reality show “Survivor” to shoot some of their series here. Some people could stay at the ultra-exclusive Misool Eco Resort, but live-aboard boats are definitely the best way to explore many of Raja Ampat’s spectacles.
It is not the end of Raja Ampat’s beauty yet, there is more to discover in West Papua. You can enjoy the company of the largest fish in Cendrawasih Bay. Cendrawasih Bay, which is out of Manokwari, has more than 500 species of coral and almost 1,000 species of fish which is one of the only places in the world where you can see whale sharks all year round.
A couple times, lucky folks can enjoy a swim with four or more of these friendly gargantuan fish. To top that, beautiful fishes, corals and nudibranch with different colors, shapes and sizes are easily spotted almost everywhere in the area that is also rich with World War II underwater relics. If diving is not your thing, snorkeling is just as impressive as most of the natural riches are just meters away from the sea surface. The area is so vast that one week is not enough to cover all the important sites here.
There are more natural treasures of West Papua that waits to be discovered such as the idyllic Triton Bay near Kaimana where you can find wild turtles nesting and Arfak Mountains which is great for bird watching — all the way to the beautiful beaches that stretch along Rumberpon Island’s coastline.
Beside nature, the province also has interesting cultural activities. For example, the Doreri tribe near Manokwari has a unique ceremony called Mansorandak to welcome their brothers or sisters who have been away for a long time. While its neighboring tribe, Arfak, has a legacy of eco-friendly architecture.
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