Indonesia Tourism - Raja Ampat West Papua
Raja Ampat is a district with an area of more than 4,5 million hectares, and is located west of the bird's head of West Papua. 85% of the district's area is ocean, the rest are islands with more than 600 islands. Of the 600 islands, there are 4 major islands, namely Misool Island, Waigeo Island, Batantan Island, and Salawati Island. Apart from these 4 islands, only 35 islands in the Raja Ampat Archipelago are inhabited, the rest are not inhabited by humans. Only about 400 islands in the Raja Ampat Archipelago have been explored, the rest are still untouched by humans.
Most of the inhabitants of the Raja Ampat Islands work as fishermen. They live in a small village which is separated from other villages because it is a different island. The people of this island are friendly and kind people. They are willing to receive guests from outside with a happy heart.
The inhabitants of these islands are partly Christian, and some are Muslim, but they still get along well despite their different beliefs. My advice, bring candy and areca nut to give to them because they consider these items a sign of peace.
The name Raja Ampat comes from nearby stories. As indicated by the story, there was a lady who discovered 7 eggs. The eggs then, at that point incubate, 4 of which bring forth into rulers, while the other 3 eggs incubate into a lady, a stone, and a phantom. The 4 sovereigns later became rulers on their individual islands, specifically Misool Island, Waigeo Island, Batanta Island, and Salawati Island with the goal that they were at long last called Raja Ampat.
These islands have extraordinary natural tourism potential. This tourist spot in West Papua is very famous for its underwater tourism which is one of the best dive sites in the world because of the completeness and diversity of its underwater flora and fauna. Based on research results, the Raja Ampat Islands have 75% of all coral species in the world. No other place in the world has such a large number of coral species in such a small location. With so many coral species in the Raja Ampat Islands, automatically there are also many reef fish species. Besides that, you can also meet manta rays, mermaids, sea horses, baruda fish, reef sharks, turtles, tuna, and others. You can also find remnants of the second world war in the waters of the Raja Ampat Islands, for example the wreck of a war plane near Wai Island.
By and large, vacationers who stay with the Raja Ampat Islands are jumpers who for the most part come from outside Indonesia. As well as plunging visits, the individuals who can't jump can likewise appreciate wonderful sea shores, social visits, see ancient relics as imprints, see oceanic celebrations (as a rule in August), appreciate regular displays, appreciate rustic climate, culinary visits, see birds of heaven , climbing coral slopes, and others.
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| Pinisi Ship |
You will be faced with 2 choices when you want to enjoy the natural attractions of the Raja Ampat Islands. The choice is the choice to stay at a resort, or stay on a modified phinisi ship. My advice is, it's better to choose to use the phinisi boat, because it's very common to stay in resorts, while staying for a few days on a typical Indonesian boat will be a unique experience. To be able to enjoy Raja Ampat tourism for 1 week using a phinisi boat, you have to pay more than 100 million Rupiah, and the boat can accommodate up to 14 people.
If you want to travel to the Raja Ampat islands, it's not enough just to be reckless, as backpackers often do. Traveling to a tourist spot dubbed this underwater paradise requires a strong desire, an adventurous spirit, a penchant for diving, and a fairly large capital. If you hope that the price of traveling to these islands will drop in the near future, you should throw your hopes away because there are regulations that limit the number of resorts and boats. This aims to maintain the natural condition of the Raja Ampat Islands which is second to none in the world. The high price also serves to filter visitors, so that only qualified and educated visitors come, so they will realize how important this location is as one of the most complete flora and fauna centers in the world.
Instructions to Get to the Raja Ampat Islands
Very to arrive at the Raja Ampat Islands isn't troublesome, yet it will take a significant long time and a genuinely huge expense. In the event that you are in Jakarta, you need to purchase a boarding pass from Jakarta to Sorong. The flight will require over 6 hours and will as a rule travel first in Makassar or Manado. In the wake of showing up in Sorong, you should take a boat to arrive at the Raja Ampat Islands, it will require around 3 hours.
The expense of leasing a boat for transportation in the Raja Ampat Islands is very costly, I suggest going in gatherings, in a perfect world 1 gathering of 8 individuals, as indicated by the limit of boats regularly utilized in these islands. That way, you can share the expense of leasing a boat with your gathering and make reserve funds.
In the event that you need to save much more, you can decide to utilize a boat from Jakarta to Sorong with a ticket cost of just around 400.000 Rupiah. Albeit modest, this strategy will consume most of the day, since you will stop in a few major urban communities. Travel time by boat from Jakarta to Sorong is around one week.