Raja Ampat - The 4 kings of Papua

Raja Ampat Dive the last frontier

West Papua - Indonesia

Dive the richest reefs on Earth Season: 365 days – all year around Visibility: 10-40m/35-130ft Water Temperature: 23-28C/77-84F Sharks, Manta Rays, Whales, Dolphins, house reef, walls, coral gardens, critter diving, shore diving, boat diving, swim-throughs, fantastic snorkeling opportunities, …

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

PAPUA DIVING

KRI ISLAND – RAJA AMPAT

Raja Ampat – 4 Kings Increasingly well-known as the world epicentre of marine biodiversity, the islands of Raja Ampat offer a world of thrilling big animal encounters, the chance to see new species, pristine reefs of hard and soft corals and some of the world’s most intriguing macro creatures.

Raja Ampat is now surely

‘The World’s Ultimate Dive Destination’!

The remote Raja Ampat archipelago lies off the northeastern coast of West Papua, Indonesia’s most easterly province (formerly known as Irian Jaya), which occupies the western part of the huge island of New Guinea. Exotic? Mysterious?

This fascinating, vast and rugged province is both. Indeed it was perhaps the last of planet Earth’s regions to remain untouched by civilization. In 1770 Captain Cook and his landing party set foot on the western shores of the island and a volley of arrows sent them packing from a territory then inhabited by headhunters.

Fortunately, a more welcome reception awaits visitors these days!

Raja Ampat archipelago – the 4 kings: Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo and over 1,500 islets All formed from limestone and those who have travelled to Palau will find these green-capped, limestone outcrops looking very similar to the latter’s Rock Islands.

No two islands or islets are alike, and no two dive sites the same.

The steep-sided walls of the rocks are shaped by wind and water.

Soft, vanilla-coloured, sandy bays are ideal for spending time exploring between dives.

But it is under the water where one finds the most amazing creatures in abundance.!

How to get there?

The Raja Ampat Archipelago is known as the “crown jewel” in the Papuan “Bird’s Head Seascape” The main ports to Sorong are Jakarta, Makassar or Manado. Airlines like Sriwijaya Air, Express Air and Batavia operate with regular flights.

Kri Island is located about 75 km northwest of Sorong It is located at the tip of the Bird’s Head peninsula in west Papua and approximately 2 hours by boat from Sorong.

Raja Ampat – 4 Kings Take the opportunity to visit Raja

northwest off the coast of West Papua, offering beautiful

Ampat now and be amongst the

cottages sitting on powder-white beaches, nestled into the

first to dive these varied sites .

lush forest, right along the richest house-reef of the world, where Dr.G. Allen broke the world record count

See the amazing sharks of the

of 374 different species in april 2012. Not only is this the

region and experience the vast

richest dive spot in the world but also great for

array of fish and corals.

snorkelling.

Marvel at the beautiful scenery and enjoy the thrill of

Besides that, staying with Papua Diving is more than just

remoteness in this spectacularly

an opportunity for an escape; it is also a direct

wonderful area.

contribution to local marine & community conservation activities. Most of the resorts was built using local materials that

Already famous amongst

were bought from local villagers

underwater photographers and

also offering employment to those

fish watchers for this is the area

communities at the same time. At

where world records in counting

the moment more than 89% of the

fish have been broken.

staff are Papuans, many of them

From pygmy seahorses (all three

ex-sharkfinners and dynamite

species: H. barbiganti, H. denise and H. pontohi) to

fishermen. Not only have we gone

Manta Rays, the reefs on Kri are sure to amaze. Visibility

to great lengths to reduce the impact of our operations,

is usually good in the mornings and fast currents mean

we also extended our environmental responsibility to the

that most dives are done as drifts. When the sun is just

area surrounding our resorts.

setting is the time to look out for Mandarinfish and

The RARRC (Raja Ampat Research and Conservation

Mimic Octopus. As the sun fades it is time to work on

Centre - www.stichting-rarcc.org) adjunct to Sorido

some night photography. Look out for feeding squid

Bay Resort, has been protecting the area for over 20

popping their long ‘tongues’ out to capture some small,

years. Recent developments like the record diversity

tasty creature.

count and a visible increase of shark life state the positive

Papua Diving is the pioneering dive operator in the

effects of conservation

Raja Ampat counting +20y of experience in the area with

efforts.

our central location in the Dampier Strait and therefore closest proximity to Raja Ampat, the world’s epicentre of coral diversity, which offers unrivalled diving opportunities.

The Resorts Kri Eco & Sorido Bay are both Resorts are located on Kri Island island 75 km (1,5-2h by boat)

Facts & Figures Language

What is the best time to dive?

Bahasa Indonesia & english widely spoken

It is very difficult to pin point a 'best' time for your stay with us on Kri Island, as diving conditions are good

Currency

year around. Being located that close to the equator and

Indonesian Rupiah

protected by several mountains island masses, we have a kind of micro climate. Indonesian weather, seasons and

Timezone

monsoons do not pertain to us in Papua. The summer

Indonesia has three Time Zones :

month bring more wind than usual and the sea surface

Western Indonesia : GMT +7 (Jakarta)

can be a little more choppy, but the visibility tends to

Central Indonesia: GMT +8 (Manado/Makassar)

be the best of the year (20- 40m) Winter month can be a

Eastern Indonesia: GMT +9 (Raja Ampat)

little more wet and the visi-bility tends to drop, but then

Please beware of that when taking domestic

plankton aggregations attract the mantas. (10 20m)

COMBINATIONS: It is straightforward to combine a

Closest decompression chamber:

visit to Raja Ampat with another of Indonesia’s fabulous

Manado

dive destinations.

FLIGHTS: Flights into Sorong. There are daily flight connections to Sorong via Jakarta and less frequent, but less expensive, connections via Manado

Is there internet & mobile connection?

Wi-fi Internet access is only available at Sorido Bay Resort. Although it can be intermittent, both resorts have mobile phone signal.

Dive the richest house reef in the world With Raja Ampat’s pioneering private Dive Resorts!

Counting more than 20 years of experience in the area and with our central location in the Dampier Strait we are located within the closest proximity to the world’s epicentre of coral diversity, which offers unrivalled diving.

Book your holidays today at one of our dive resorts Kri Eco Resort Close to Nature

Sorido Bay Resort You are king

www.papua-diving.com