INDONESIA "A PIECE OF HEAVEN": A PIECE OF HEAVEN @ RAJA AMPAT

RAJA AMPAT ISLAND - WEST PAPUA

Located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's West Papua province, Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau.

Raja Ampat Regency is a new regency which separated from Sorong Regency in 2004. It encompasses more than 40,000 km² of land and sea, which also contains Cenderawasih Bay, the largest marine national park in Indonesia. It is a part of the newly named West Papua (province) of Indonesia which was formerly Irian Jaya. Some of the islands are the most northern pieces of land in the Australian continent.

The oceanic natural resource around Raja Ampat makes it significantly potential as a touristic area. Many sources place Raja Ampat as one of their top ten popular places for diving whilst it becomes number one in terms of underwater biodiversity.

According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on Earth. Diversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, making Raja Ampat quite possibly the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world.

The area's massive coral colonies along with relatively high sea surface temperatures, also suggest that its reefs may be relatively resistant to threats like coral bleaching and coral disease, which now jeopardize the survival of other coral ecosystems around the world. The Raja Ampat islands are remote and relatively undisturbed by humans.

The high marine diversity in Raja Ampat is strongly influenced by its position between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as coral and fish larvae are more easily shared between the two oceans. Raja Ampat's coral diversity, resilience, and role as a source for larval dispersal make it a global priority for marine protection.

1,309 fish species, 537 coral species (a remarkable 96% of all scleractinia recorded from Indonesia are likely to occur in these islands and 75% of all species that exist in the world), and 699 mollusk species, the variety of marine life is staggering. Some areas boast enormous schools of fish and regular sightings of sharks, such as wobbegongs.

Although accessing the islands is not that difficult, it takes some time. It takes six hours flight from Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia to Sorong. Then, taking boat to reach the islands is necessary.

There are some alternatives to go to Raja Ampat through some ways. The easiest way to get to Raja Ampat is to fly to Sorong via Jakarta or Singapore. Domestic travelers can also fly via Makassar or Manado. Take a six-hour flight from Jakarta to Sorong, via Manado. There are scheduled flights everyday (you can check the airport or airlines to specify the flight schedules) Airlines serving these domestic flight routes are Silk Air, Garuda Indonesia, Pelita Air and Merpati

From Jakarta or Bali: Merpati, Express Air, Batavia Air and Lion/Wings operate daily flights from Jakarta to Sorong (with stopovers in Ujung Pandang/Makassar and/or Manado)

From Singapore: Silk Air operates regular flights from Singapore to Manado. From Manado to Sorong regular flights are offered by Lion Air and Merpati. It is easiest to check with a local Indonesian Travel agent or directly with the airline for the latest domestic flights available.

To access the diving spots, the visitors can contact and use the professional diving organizers in Sorong. Before going to the dive spots, the visitors need to obtain a permit from the local Papua police station. Hence, the visitors need to bring the passport and three (3) copies of the passport page with the Indonesian Visa. The diving organizers will help with these formalities.

From Sorong, there are two type of boats available; Speed Boat (40 minutes - 1 hour boat trip, carries 15 passengers); Long Boat (2-3 hour boat trip and could carry 10 passengers). The boats can also be rent to getting around the islands.

.......Enjoy the following picture of A Piece of Heaven at Raja Ampat - Papua, Indonesia......