Derawan Islands

Derawan Islands is a group of islands located in the Makassar Strait and into the administration area Maratua District, Berau, East Kalimantan.


In addition to its coral and fish diversity, the Derawan chain contains Indonesia’s largest nesting site for endangered green sea turtles, which emerge from the sea every night to lay their eggs on the white sand beaches of Sangalaki and Derawan Islands.

In the surrounding waters there is marine park and is renowned as a tourist submarine for diving spot with a depth of about five meters. There are a wide variety of marine life here, such as squid (cuttlefish), lobster, ghostpipe fish, octopus (octopus bluering), nudibranchs, sea horses, ribbon Eels and scorpion fishes.On a coral rock at ten meters depth, there is coral rock known as “Trigger Blue Wall” because of the reef with a length of 18 meters there is a lot of trigger fish (red-toothed trigger fishes).



Beside, in Derawan Islands there are several small islands and coastal ecosystems which are
very important such as the coral reefs, sea grass beds and mangrove forests. In addition, many protected species in the Islands of Derawan like green turtles, hawksbill turtles, whales, dolphins, clams, coconut crabs, mermaids, barracuda fish and some other species.

The Islands in Derawan archipelago is about 31 island, which is some of them are bar (gusung) and atoll. Atoll is a coral island surrounding by a lagoon partially or completely. The used of the lands by local inhabitant in these island is only limited for the home living. In addition, the land of the island in the Derawan archipelago still in the form of mangrove forests, thickets, limestone forest in Maratua and coconut vegetation.


The coral reefs in this Derawan archipelago wide spread throughout the island and bar or gusung in Derawan Islands. The shoal in these islands including Gusung Pulau Panjang, Gusung Masimbung, Gusung Buliulin, Gusung Pinaka, Gusung Tababinga and Gusung Muaras.

The types of coral reefs in Derawan Islands consist of reef edge, barrier reefs and atolls. These atolls have been formed into an island and being a lake of salty water and it has 460 to 470 numbers of species indicates that this is a wealth biodiversity, giving it the world’s second highest level of hard coral diversity after the Raja Ampat Islands in eastern Indonesia.

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Cendrawasih Bay National Park

Cendrawasih Bay National Park is a representative ecosystem of coral reefs, beaches, mangrove islands and mainland tropical forests in Papua / Irian Jaya. the largest marine national park in Indonesia, consisting of land and coastal areas (0.9%), mainland islands (3.8%), coral reefs (5.5%), and ocean waters (89.8%).

recorded 150 species from 15 families, and 18 large ans small islands scattered all arround the banks. The percentage of live coral cover varied between 30.40% to 65.64%. Generally, coral reef ecosystems are divided into two zones: the reef (reef flat) and reef slope zone (reef slope). The types of corals that can be seen among other blue colonies (Heliopora coerulea), black coral (Antiphates sp.), And Pectiniidae Faviidae families, as well as different types of soft corals.

Recorded approximately 209 inhabitants of the region's fish species such as butterflyfish, angelfish, damselfish, parrotfish, rabbitfish, and anemonefish.

Types of mollusks such as cowries (Cypraea spp.), Snails strombidae (Lambis spp.), Cone snails (Conus spp.), Triton trumpet (Charonia tritonis), and giant clams (Tridacna gigas).

There are four types of turtles that often landed in the national park is the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), green turtle (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill fission (Lepidochelys olivaceae), and the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). Dugongs (Dugong dugon), blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), coconut crabs (Birgus latro), dolphins, and sharks are often seen in the waters of Cendrawasih Bay National Park.

There are natural caves which are relics of ancient times, hot springs that contain sulfur without salinity at Misowaar Island, Underwater Cave with a depth of 100 feet in Tanjung Mangguar. A number of relics from the 18th century can still be found in several places such as in Wendesi, Wasior, and Yomber. Many Christians who visited the church in the village Yende (Roon Island),using the holy book published in 1898.


Activities :


Rumberpon Island : Wildlife Observation (birds), deer, marine tourism, diving and snorkeling.

Nusrowi Island : Diving and snorkeling, marine tourism, wildlife observation.

Mioswaar Island : Hot springs, waterfalls, diving and snorkeling, wildlife observation and cultural tourism.

Yoop islands and Windesi : Whales and dolphins Observations

Roon Island :  Bird watching, diving and snorkeling, waterfalls, cultural tourism, and the local old church.




1.4535 million hectares

Location : District. Manokwari regency. Paniai,

Province : Papua / Irian Jaya

Temperature : 21 ° - 33 ° C

Rainfall : 1200-3700 mm / year

Humidity : 82-83%

Wind speed : 3.5 to 9.0 knots and 22-23 knots

West season : September to March

East season : April to in July

Transitional season : August

The geographical position of 1 ° 43 '- 3 ° 22' S, 134 ° 06 '- 135 ° 10' E

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Nusakambangan Island

Nusa Kambangan island is located in the Indian Ocean, separated by a narrow strait off the southern coast of Java island; the closest port is Cilacap in Central Java province. Dubbed as the "Alcatraz of Indonesia", the island is notorious for its maximum security prisons, home to convicted murderers, terrorists, drug dealers and those convicted in high profile corruption cases.

The island was made into a prison island during the Dutch period. The colonial government built a high security prison on the isolated island to exile criminals and political dissidents. The prison on Nusakambangan was opened in the mid-1920s by Indonesia's former Dutch colonial rulers and was once considered the harshest penal institution in South East Asia. The island was declared off-limits in 1905 by the Dutch.

Its usage as a prison island continued after independence. During the rule of former President Suharto, hundreds of political dissidents were imprisoned on the island. Most were political prisoners, members of the banned Communist Party of Indonesia.

In 1996, the island was finally opened to the public as a tourist destination.

The island has also been involved in refugee handling. About 140 Afghan refugees were detained on the island after their boat, which was en route to Christmas Island, Australia, sank in rough seas on August 17, 2001. However, more than 90 of these refugees would later escape on September 19, 2001, sailing away in small fishing boats and are believed to be have headed for Australia.

The island was also affected by the July 2006 Java earthquake, when a tsunami triggered by a 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake off the coast of Java. At least 11 villagers diappeared and 8 people killed in the aftermath, two of which are prisoners in Permisan prison. And at least fifteen inmates on the Nusakambangan prison island near Pangandaran were also missing.

Nusakambangan is separated from the island of Java by the narrow Segara Anakan strait. Being isolated from mainland Java, the island is relatively under-developed and less inhabited and the wildlife is better preserved.[5] The eastern side of a bay is a nature reserve area where an old Dutch fortress is located on the Karangbandung beach. As a lowland tropical rain forest, Nusakambangan is biologically diverse.
More than 71 different bird species, 14 reptile species and various mammal species are found in the island. Twenty-three bird species are in classified as protected, including Kuntul Karang (Egretta sacra), Black Egret (Ciconia episcopus), Bangau Tongtong (Leptoptilos javanicus), white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), elang bondol (Haliastur indus), and elang bido (Spilornis cheela). Several other protected mammal species include the black-spotted leopard (Panthera pardus), Javan Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) and Javan mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus). Four of six endemic primates in Java, namely Javan Lutung (Trachypithecus auratus), the crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis), Javan Surili (Presbytis comata), and kukang (Nyctibus sp.), have been reported to live on the island.


The southern part of the island were filled with coral and large waves is directly facing the Indian Ocean. While the north-facing Cilacap filled with fishing villages and mangrove forests. The best part is in the west. In this section there is a beach which only has white sand.

Gulf in the west have a beach called Segara Anakan. Clean beaches and white sand into its flagship. Coupled with shade trees at the edge, beautiful! In addition to beach tourism, you can tour the flora and fauna. In this section, you can explore the forest is still dense enough and still plenty of wildlife such as deer, tigers and snakes. Due to the dense forest and satwanya a pretty dangerous, you should use the services of a guide to explore.

Besides beaches and forest, the island also has a travel history of the fort. Portuguese forts obsolete so covered with trees and grass. Although obsolete, the fort can still be entered. You can enter the kitchen, medical room and jail. Here also there are 2 pieces of ancient cannon, which weighs hundreds of pounds.

To reach the western part of the island, you can use motorized boats that lined the shore cilacap. This 10-15 minute trip fare of Rp 20,000 per person. Shortly after arriving on the island of Nusa Kambangan, you will be greeted by the gate to pay admission. Ticket prices are not expensive anyway, only Rp 3,500 per person. After that, enjoy the beauty of the western island of Nusakambangan.

Not only Nusakambangan Island, Turtle Bay coast in Cilacap also has a historical narrative. On the beach there is a castle fortress which Pendem. A Dutch heritage fort has a unique building concept. As the name implies, is a semi Fort Pendem bunker because it was built on the ground to a depth of 1-3 meters. This fort has 60 bedroom, ammunition, a kitchen and a medical room.

In the 2009 i made myself trip to nusakambangan, to studying about the priosoner and how they life in the island. there is a quite beach located in the south of the island.  the prisoner is also made some stone craft and we can buy it with very cheap prices.

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Raja Ampat Island

The origin of the name of Raja Ampat by local myth comes from a woman who found seven eggs. Four grains of which hatch into four princes who separated and each became king. ruling Waigeo, Salawati, Misool East and Misool West. Meanwhile, three other eggs became a ghost, a woman, and a stone.

In the course of history, the Raja Ampat has long been inhabited by fishing communities and implement a custom system Maluku. In this system, the people are members of a village community. Each village was led by a king. Since the establishment of the two Muslim sultanate in the Moluccas, Raja Ampat become part of the Sultanate of Tidore claims. After the defeat of Tidore Sultanate from the Dutch Empire, Raja Ampat Islands became part of the Dutch East Indies claim.

Raja Ampat Islands society generally traditional fishermen who live in small villages are located far apart and different islands. They are a friendly community receive visitors from outside, especially if we brought gifts for them in the form of nuts or candy.This product is a kind of 'indian peace pipe' in Raja Ampat. Tradition of chatting with eating nut is also called "Para - Para Pinang" often take turns throwing each other mob, the local term for funny stories. They are followers of Islam and Christianity, and often in the same family or clan members are embracing one of the two religions. It makes the Raja Ampat still get along despite different beliefs.

District Raja Ampat Located in West Papua. This area stores a million beauty beneath the sea. Raja Ampat marine tourism is known as one of the 10 best dive sights in the world. Enchantment under the sea and natural wealth, the mainstay of the Raja Ampat Islands through the competitive world of tourism in Indonesia and the world through diving tours that can be done in this eastern Indonesia.

The archipelago is the district resulting from the division of Sorong regency since 2003 covering 12 districts and 88 villages. District has a population of 31,000 souls has 610 islands including the four major islands, namely Pulau Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo. Of the 610 islands, only 35 islands are inhabited. With a total area of ​​about 46,000 km2, only 6,000 km2 of land, 40,000 km2 while the rest is ocean. The islands are unspoiled and beautiful sea is still making direct tourists hooked.

The archipelago is located in the heart of the world's coral triangle (Coral Triangle) and is the center of the richest tropical marine biodiversity in the world today.

The islands are located in the western part of thePapua Island, Indonesia, stretches over an area of ​​approximately 4.6 million hectares. Raja Ampat has a rich and unique species with high discovery 1104 species of fish, 699 species of molluscs (soft animals), and 537 species of coral animals. Not only are the types of fish, Raja Ampat is also rich diversity of coral reefs, seagrass carpet, mangroves, rocky cliffs and beautiful beaches. The potential interest is the development of eco-tourism and the region has also been proposed as a World Heritage Area (World Herritage Site) by the Government of Indonesia.

Seeing his position in the Coral Triangle, right at the center of the world's coral reef biodiversity, the  Raja Ampat Islands Sea region indicated as the richest biodiversity in the world. Collection of extensive coral reefs and rich coral reefs prove that these islands can survive against threats like coral bleaching and disease, two types of threats that now jeopardize the survival of corals around the world. Strong ocean currents in the Raja Ampat plays an important role in spreading the coral and fish larvae past the Indian and Pacific Oceans to replenish other reef ecosystems. These capabilities are supported by the diversity and resilience make this region a top priority to protect. The archipelago is part of a region known as the Bird's Head Seascape area, which includes the Gulf of Paradise, National Marine Park in Indonesia.

Raja Ampat Islands is a great potential to serve as a tourist attraction, especially the dive. Raja Ampat Islands waters according to various sources, is one of the 10 best waters for diving sites around the world. In fact, it may also be recognized as number one for the completeness of underwater flora and fauna at this time.

Dr. John Veron, coral experienced experts from Australia, for example, in a site he revealed, the Raja Ampat Islands located at the western  tip of New Guinea, about 50 miles northwest of Sorong, has the best reef areas in Indonesia. Approximately 450 species of coral had been identified during the two weeks of research in that area.

A team of experts from Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Institute of Oceanography (LON) Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) have done a quick assessment in 2001 and 2002. As a result, they noted in these waters there are more than 540 hard coral species (75% of the total species in the world), more than 1,000 types of reef fish, 700 species of mollusks, and the highest record for gonodactyloid stomatopod crustaceans. This makes 75% of the world's coral species in Raja Ampat. Nowhere the same area has a number of coral species as much as this.

There are some coral reefs are still very good condition with the percentage of live coral cover by 90%, which is in the Dampier Strait (the strait between P. and P. Waigeo Batanta), Kofiau Islands, Balearic Islands and South East Misool Wayag. Types of coral reefs in Raja Ampat is generally fringing reef with gentle slope to steep contour. But it also found atoll type and type of burns or taka. In some places, such as in the village Saondarek, when the lowest tides, coral reefs can be seen without a dive and the adaptation itself, corals can still be alive despite being in the open air and direct sunlight.

Unique species that can be found when diving is some kind of pigmy seahorse or sea horse mini, wobbegong and manta ray. There are also endemic fish Raja Ampat, namely Eviota king, which is a kind of fish gobbie. At Manta Point supernal Arborek Dampier Strait, you can dive in the company of some tail Manta Ray benign like when you dive in Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan. If diving in Cape Kri or Chicken Reef, you can be surrounded by thousands of fish. Sometimes a collection of tuna, giant trevallies and snappers. But a tense when we are surrounded by a collection of barracuda fish, even though it is relatively harmless (dangerous if we see barracuda solitary or alone). Reef sharks are also frequently seen, and if you are lucky you can also see turtles were quietly eating sponge or swim around you. In some places, such as in Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo also seen Dugong or sea cow.

Because of the many local islands and narrow straits, most of the diving site has a strong current at any given time.is also possible to doing a drift dive, dive while following strong current with very clear visibilyty in the water . There is also a sunken aircraft from World War II relics that can be found in several places makes a nice wreck dive as in P. Wai. And much more real coral reef sites have not been touched. This makes diving in Raja Ampat was more challenging.

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