Marine Tours, Diving, and Snorkeling in Bunaken National Park

Bunaken National Park is a marine park located in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province. The location is in the Coral Triangle, providing habitat to 390 species of coral as well as many fish, mollusc, reptile and marine mammal species. Bunaken is representative of Indonesian tropical water ecosystems, coral reef, consisting of seagrass plain, and coastal ecosystems.

Bunaken Island seen from Manado Tua Island.
Source: wikipedia.org 

The Park covers a total area of 890.65 km², which 97% of it is marine habitat. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Siladen, Nain, Mantehage and Manado Tua. At the southern part of the Park covers part of the Tanjung Kelapa coast.

A very rich coral ecosystem covers most of Bunaken, dominated by fringing reef and barrier reef corals. Approximately 390 species of coral recorded in the Park. A distinct feature is a 25-50 meter vertical coral wall which is inhabited by 13 coral genus. Seaweeds that can be found here include Halimeda, Padina, and Caulerpa species. The dominant seagrasses in Montehage and Nain island are Enhallus acoroides, Thalassodendron ciliatum, and Thalassia hemprichii.

Approximately 90 species of fish live in the waters of the park, among them are the Emperor Angelfish, Almaco Jack, Spotted Seahorse, Bluestripe Snapper, Pinkish Basslet and Two-lined monocle bream. The species of mollusc include the Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas), horned helmet (Cassis cornuta), pearly-chambered nautili (Nautilus pompillius), and ascidians.

Bunaken National Park, Manado. Source: wikipedia.org

On the land, the Park are rich in species of palm, sagu, woka, silar and coconut. Among the animal species that live on the land and the beaches are black-crested macaques (Macaca nigra nigra), Timor deer (Cervus timorensis russa), and bear-cuscus (Ailurops ursinus ursinus). The mangrove forest at the Park contains Lumnitzera, Rhizophora, Bruguiera, and Sonneratia species. This forest is also rich in species of crab, lobster, mollusc, and sea birds such as gulls, herons, sea doves, and storks.

There are some tourist attractions in the park. Anniversary of Manado in July and Menulude in January are suitable for cultural attractions. Bunaken is one of Indonesia's most famous diving and snorkeling spot, it draws visitors from all over the world. Marine habitats suitable for tourists to do the marine tours, diving, and snorkeling in Bunaken. There are beginner-friendly sites too and all dive shops can arrange introduction dives and Open Water Dive courses. The best time to visit it is at May to August.

How to go to Bunaken ?

The Park can be reached from Manado harbour, the Nusantara Diving Centre Marina in Molas subdistrict, and the Blue Banter Marina. From Manado harbour by motor boat :

• to Siladen Island takes about 20 minutes, 
• to Bunaken Island takes about 30 minutes, 
• to Montehage Island takes about 50 minutes, 
• to Nain Island takes about 60 minutes. 

From Blue Banter Marina heading to the tourist attractions on Bunaken takes about 10-15 minutes by cabin cruiser. From the Nusantara Diving Centre harbour to the dive spots take about 20 minutes by speedboat.

Lorentz National Park, the Tourist Attractions in Papua

Lorentz National Park is located in the province of Papua, Indonesian. With an area of 25,056 km², the Park is the largest protected area in the Asia-Pacific region. it represents the most complete ecosystem for biodiversity in either Southeast Asia or the Pacific. It is also one of only three tropical areas in the world that has a glacier. Stretching from snow-covered peaks down to coastal waters and mangrove forest and bordering upon the Arafura Sea, this astonishing ecological spectrum ranges from alpine to lowland and wetland vegetation areas.

Puncak Jaya at the north-western edge of the Lorentz National Park.
Source: wikipedia.org

The park contains Puncak Jaya (Carstensz Pyramid), which at 4,884 metres is the tallest mountain between the Himalayas and the Andes. Puncak Jaya is surrounded by equatorial glaciers, which are rapidly retreating due to the effects of global warming. Lorentz National Park also has other unique features such as a river that disappears under the ground for several kilometres in the Baliem valley.

The forests of Lorentz encompass the traditional lands of eight indigenous ethnic groups, including the Asmat, Amungme, Dani, Sempan, and Nduga. The park contains many unmapped and unexplored areas, and is certain to contain many species of plants and animals as yet unknown to Western science.

There are 34 vegetation types that make up the forest area of the Park, including swamp forest, riparian forest, sago forest, peat forest, coastal forest, coral reef, slope/flat land rain forest, hillside rain forest, montane forest, grassy plains, and moss-covered areas. Among the species of plant that grow in this Park are Podocarpus pilgeri, Rhizophora apiculata, Pandanus julianettii, Nauclea coadunata, Nypa fruticans, and  Colocasia esculenta.

The Southern Crowned Pigeon found in Lorentz.
 Source: wikipedia.org

The Park have over 630 species of bird (around 70% of the total number of bird species in Papua) and 123 species of mammal. Birds include two species of cassowary, 31 species of cockatoo, 31 pigeon and dove species, 29 species of sunbird and 13 species of kingfisher. Six bird species are endemic to the Snow Mountains including the Snow Mountain Robin and Snow Mountain Quail, 26 species are endemic to the Central Papuan Ranges while three are endemic to the South Papuan Lowlands. Threatened species include the Pesquet's Parrot, Southern Crowned Pigeon, Macgregor's Giant Honeyeater, Southern Cassowary and Salvadori's Teal.

The mammal species include the Short-beaked echidna, Long-beaked echidna, and four species of cuscus as well as wildcats, wallabies and tree-kangaroos. Endemic to the Sudirman Range is the Dingiso, a tree kangaroo species only discovered in 1995.

The best time to visit the park is on August to December. Tourist can do cultural tourism, animal observation and mountain climbing.

How to go to the park?

From Timika, to the northern part of the Park by the local air service and to the southern part of the Park by sea from the Sawa Erma Port, then follow the trails to various locations.