AMBON

Ambon, the provincial capital of Maluku, is built on a hillside overlooking the bay. It has a number of interesting historical and cultural sites, among them the remnants of forts built by the Dutch East Indies Company during the heyday of the spice trade. The ruins of the Portuguese fort at Hila are almost entirely hidden beneath the contorted roots of a giant Banyan tree. The ANZAC War Cemetery near Ambon town is the site of services held every year on April 25, to commemorate the Allied soldiers who died in the region during World War II. The Museum Siwa Lima has a fine collection of local arts and crafts. Amhon is at the Maluku end of the annual yacht race between Darwin, Australia and Ambon. The race usually takes place in July and August.

HALMAHERA ISLAND

This island lies to the east of Ternate, separated only by a narrow strait. It is a mountainous island, still largely covered with forests. The coastlines are white sand and coral reefs are found in its waters. Offering a beautiful spectacle, Mount Mamuya (930 m) spews burning lava from time to time, adding to the allure of this island. Pearl oyster breeding farms on Mangaliho Island can be reach by motorboat.
North Halmahera
Geographically, North Halmahera regency is stay at 10,57′-20, 0′ north latitude and 1280,17′-1280, 18′ east longitude. North Halmahera regency declared on 31 May 2003 with its capital is Tobelo. It also has new districts and villages. Nine districts were developed to 22 districts and 174 villages become 260 villages. The wide this regency is 24.983,32 km2 that contains of 19.536,02 km2 (78%) sea area and 5.447,30 km2 (22%) land area. There are 76 islands, 19 islands have no named. Almost, every island has its beautiful panorama. The small islands with its white sand beach, the beautiful sea garden with its various fishes, various flora and fauna and its culture, can also find the historical sites in World War II in this region. The number of North Halmahera regency in 2003 is 169.440 of men, 75 % is farmer and fisherman. North Halmahera is one of agarics with its nature potency that contains of field sector, gardening, plantation, fish, maritime, breeding, mining, small industry, and tourism.

CERAM ISLAND

The second largest island in Maluku, Ceram is virtually untouched because of its wild, rugged interior: Ceram recieves a lot of rain throughout the year, and is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Trekking in the Manusela National Park is about as far off the beaten track as you can get in Indonesia, the park recieves fewer visitors than Baliem Valley in Irian Jaya. The Park includes examples of all Ceram’s forest ecosytems, from sea level to the top of Mount Binaya at 3,027 m, the highest peak in Maluku, which gives a sense of real adventure to visitors with its impressive scenery, diversity, and abundance of flora, fauna and unique geological features. The Manusela National Park pratects the watercathment area for the adjacent alluvial lowlands; conserves all Ceram’s genetic resources and ecosystems, and provides an ideal area for education, scientific and tourism development. Accommodation and information are most readily available on the ‘heavily populated’ south coast. The North coast boasts some of the best snorkeling in all Maluku at Asele, one hour east of Wahai.

BANDA ISLANDS

The Banda Islands are one of Indonesias top destinations for divers. Both experts and beginners will enjoy themselves here, as the diving ranges from the shallow lagoon between Banda Neira and Gunung Api to the vertical walls of Hatta Island, the most easterly in the group. The Bandas offer stunning tropical scenery, a remarkable history, friendly villages, and some of the globe’s most pristine, biologically diverse coral reefs. Scuba is new here, but the pioneering divers didn’t have to work hard for their thrills. The undersea world around Ambon and the nearby island of Saparua have top-rate dive sites. Highlights among reef walls here are the presence of large marine life – sharks, enormous turtles, schools of Napoleon Wrasse, giant groupers, tuna, rays, and huge lobsters – neighbors to generous schools of reef fish. The Banda Islands, about 132 kilometers southeast of Ambon, consists of three larger islands and seven smaller ones, perched on the rim of Indonesia’s deepest sea, the Banda Sea. Near the island Manuk, the water reaches a depth of more than 6,500 meters. Of the three biggest islands Banda, Banda-Neira and Gunung Api, the first two are covered with nutmeg trees and other vegetation. The third however, is entirely bare and highly volcanic. The seas around Banda are the site of the famous Maluku sea gardens with their bright corals and colorful fish darting through the crystal- clear waters and makes it suited to dive, snorkel or even just sightseeing.

GUNUNG API

Gunung Api is the famous volcano of the sea snakes which most Banda Sea liveaboards try and visit, weather permitting – but there is another volcanic island, Manuk, where scores of sea snakes can also be found. Manuk is as remote as Gunung Api, located nearly one hundred miles off the Banda Islands and out on its own in the middle of the Banda Sea. Not that many boats go there due to it being so out of the way of the usual Banda itinerary, so I was really pleased we were going to get a chance to see Manuk and Gunung Api on the same trip. (Sadly it meant we didn’t go to Luci Para atoll though, but you can’t win them all). You can smell the stench of sulphur as the liveaboard gets near to Manuk, and there was even a visible plume of steam rising from one of the vents in the steep sides of the island. There are hot rocks in the shallows too, just like at Sangeang in Komodo, where the warmth from the volcano bubbles up through into the water.

SERAM ISLAND

Seram, the largest and among the least known islands in Maluku, hovers over Ambon, Saparua and lots of sea. Many of Ambon’s tradition are said to have originated from Seram, including the division into two sets of customs, patasiwa and patalima, as well as pela alliances between two villages often located far apart. Seram is also replete with magic, for the Amboneses anyway, with many anecdotes of men who can fly, kill at a distance and change their shape at will. While the western part of the island has lost its mystery, thanks to thriving lumber industry, the remote eastern mountains is where the magic is now concentrated. In some parts of the island, hunting is allowed. Thousands of wild boars live in the forests and many species of birds and butterflies are still found in abundance.

POMBO ISLAND

Pombo Island is located on north east of Ambon Island which is the capital city for Maluku province. The traveler may get there by boat provided by the local agencies. The agencies also provide diving equipment so that the diver may rent it. The most interesting part of Pombo Island is it gives natural purity. The very clean and bright water may give bright sight to all divers. The beauty of under water world will also amaze the diver. The colorfull fishes swim across so that all divers may photograph or capture the moment by video cameras. The complete species of fishes may be observed by observers who want to make research. Not only the complete collection of fishes that will amaze the scuba diver but also its coral reef as the fishes home redecorates the scene. The tropical sun shine will brighten the scene and give certain effect on the photographs, so that we recommend Pombo Island as destination of your scuba diving vacation or your challenging holiday. In order to protect the species and the scene, the Indonesian government set the location as conservation.

KAI ISLAND

Inhabitants called the islands Nuhu Evav (Evav Islands) or Tanat Evav (Evav Land), but known as Kei or Kai for people from neighbourhood islands. The islands are south of the Bird’s Head Peninsula of Papua, west of the Aru Islands, and northeast of the Tanimbar Islands. The Kai islands are made up of numerous islands, including Kai Besar or Nuhu Yuut or Nusteen (Great Kai), Kai Kecil or Nuhu Roa or Nusyanat (Little Kai), Tanimbar Kei or Tnebar Evav, Kai Dulah or Du, Dulah Laut or Du Roa, and the Kuur, Taam and Tayandu or Tahayad island groups. The Kai Islands’ total land area is 1438 km² (555 sq mi). Kai Besar is mountainous and densely forested. Papua is: Another name for New Guinea Papua (Australian territory): A former Australian territory comprising the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea, now the southern part of Papua New Guinea Papua (Indonesian province): An Indonesian province comprising the western half of the island of New Guinea Related Words. The Aru Islands (also Aroe Islands or Kepulauan Aru) are a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The Tanimbar Islands, also called Timor Laut, are a group of about 30 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The Kai islands are part of Wallacea, the group of Indonesian islands that are separated by deep water from both the Asian and Australian continental shelves, and were never linked to either continent. As a result, the Kai Islands have few native mammals.