Raja Ampat is a district with an area of more than 4.5 million acres, and is located west of West Papua bird's head. 85% of the district is the ocean, the rest are islands of more than 600 islands. Of the 600 islands, there are 4 major islands, namely Misool Island, Island Waigeo, Batanta Island, and Salawati. In addition to the four islands, only 35 islands in the Raja Ampat Islands are inhabited, the rest are no human settlements. Only about 400 islands in the Raja Ampat Islands-has been explored, the rest is still not touched by humans at all.
Raja Ampat Islands residents mostly work as fishermen. They live in a small village which is separated from the other because of the different villages of the island. Island communities are people friendly and kind. They are willing to accept outside visitors with a cheerful heart. Raja Ampat Islands majority population embraced Christianity, and some converted to Islam, but they remain in harmony despite different beliefs. My advice, take the candy and nut to be given to them because they assume the good is a sign of peace.
The name comes from the Raja Ampat local stories. According to the story, there was a woman who found seven eggs fruit. The eggs are then hatched, 4 of which hatches into a prince, while three other eggs hatch into a woman, a stone, and ghosts. 4 The prince became king on his island each, namely Misool Island, Island Waigeo, Batanta Island, and Salawati and eventually referred to as Raja Ampat.
Raja Ampat has the potential of nature tourism that is extraordinary. Tourist attractions in West Papua is very famous for its underwater tour which is one of the best dive sites in the world because of the completeness and the diversity of its underwater flora and fauna. Based on the research results, the Raja Ampat Islands have 75% of all coral species in the world. There is no other place in the world that has a number of coral species as much as it is in one location is small. With the number of coral species in Raja Ampat Islands, automatically there are also many species of reef fish. In addition you can also meet with manta rays, dugongs, sea horses, fish barkuda, reef sharks, turtles, tuna, and others. The remnants of the Second World War can also be found in the waters of Raja Ampat Islands, for example, the wreckage of war near Wai Island.
Generally, tourists who come to visit the Raja Ampat Islands are divers mostly from outside Indonesia. In addition to diving, for those who can not dive can also enjoy the beautiful beaches, cultural attractions, see the prehistoric remains in the form of a hand stamp, see maritime festival (usually in August), enjoy the scenery, enjoy the rural atmosphere, culinary, see birds of paradise , climb the cliff, and others.
You will be faced with two options at the time want to enjoy the natural attractions of the Raja Ampat Islands. That choice is the choice to stay at a resort, or stay in a ship Phinisi modified.
If you want to travel to the Raja Ampat Islands, is not enough to just reckless capital as is often done the backpacker. Trips to the sights of this underwater paradise dubbed require strong desire, an adventurous spirit, indulgence would dive, and sizable capital. If you expect the price of a trip to Raja Ampat Islands will go down in the near future, you should throw away your expectations because there is a rule that limits the number of resorts and boats. It aims to maintain the natural condition of the Raja Ampat Islands are like no other in the world. The high price also serves to filter visitors, so that only qualified and educated visitors are coming, so they will realize how important this location as one of the flora and fauna of the most comprehensive in the world.
How to Achieve the Raja Ampat Islands
Actually now is to reach the Raja Ampat Islands is not hard, but it will take a fairly long time, and sizable fee. If you are in Jakarta, then you have to buy a plane ticket from Jakarta to Sorong. The flight will take more than 6 hours and will usually transit in Makassar or Manado advance. After arriving in Sorong, you have to use a boat to reach the Raja Ampat Islands, will take about 3 hours.
The cost of rental boats for transportation in the Raja Ampat Islands is quite expensive, I would suggest to go in groups, ideally one group of 8 people, in accordance with the capacity of the vessel is commonly used in the Raja Ampat Islands. That way, you can split the cost of renting a boat with your group and make savings.
If you want to save even more, you can choose to use the ship from Jakarta to Sorong. This will take a very long time, because you will stop in major cities. Time travel by ship from Jakarta to Sorong is approximately 1 week.
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