bunaken Diving sites

The Manado dive resort area and Bunaken Marine Park are among the highlights of Indonesia scuba diving and have earned plaudits throughout the world.

Harlequin shrimp - photo courtesy of Silent Symphony

The facts say it all - when you're scuba diving in Manado you can see over 70% of all fish species that exist in the Indo-Western Pacific. Marine biodiversity is the name of the game in Indonesia generally and in Bunaken diving specifically.

The park is adored by marine biologists, photographers and recreational divers alike since the richness of its waters ensure that no 2 dives are the same and that there is always plenty to see, study, photograph and marvel at.

Included in the measures to protect this eco-treasure, is the creation of the marine park for which all divers must buy a pass which is used to fund conservation and village development programmes. It has long been recognised that the Manado

area is an area worth preserving both for the good of the environment and the local economy. Various schemes are being undertaken to encourage responsible attitudes towards the reefs, the sea life and with regards to refuse disposal in the area. In Bunaken your few dollars really do make a difference!

Komodo National Park

location : lesser sunda island between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara - Indonesia


Real dragons spurt no fire, have no need to fly and cast no magic spells. And still, one look from them might render you speechless. These komodos, the real life dragons, are a sight indeed. Gigantic, the lizard-like creatures are about two or three meters in length. They can easily weigh about 165 kilograms. Despite of their sheer size and appearance, they are not active hunters. What makes them intimidating is the fact that they are a patient predator. In the wild, they stalk a victim, usually a weak or injured one. One bite and that's what it usually takes. After following the victim for a while, sometimes up to several days' time, the komodos will devour the dying prey.

The Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is an endangered species which can only be found in the Komodo National Park (KNP) in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Because of the unique and rare nature of this animal, KNP was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.

The park includes three major islands, Komodo, Rinca and Padar, and numerous smaller islands together totaling 603 km2 of land. The total size of Komodo National Park is presently 1,817 km2. Proposed extensions of 25 km2 of land (Banta Island) and 479 km2 of marine waters would bring the total surface area up to 2,321 km2.At least 2500 Komodos live in this area. Large dragons are usually three meters long and weigh up to 90 kg. Their habitat has beautiful panoramic views of savannas, rain forests, white beaches, beautiful corals, and clean blue seas. In this area, you can also find horses, wild buffalo, deer, wild boar, snakes, monkeys, and various types of birds.

KNP has a rich and amazing underwater sea biotica. Divers claim that Komodo waters are one of the best diving sites in the world. It has fascinating underwater scenery. You can find 385 species of beautiful corals, mangrove forests, and seaweeds as a home for thousands of fish species, 70 types of sponges, 10 types of dolphins, 6 types of whales, green turtles and various types of sharks and stingrays.

The hot and dry climate of the Park, characterized by savannah vegetation, make it to a good habitat for the endemic Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).[1] Their populations are restricted to the islands of Komodo (1,700), Rinca (1,300), Gili Motang (100), Gili Dasami (100), and Flores (ca. 2,000),[4] while extinct on Padar.[3]

Cloud forests appear only in few areas above 500 metres but they provide habitat to several endemic flora. Coastal vegetaion includes mangrove forest, which generally appear in the sheltered bays of the three larger islands.[3]

Fringing and patch coral reefs are extensive and best developed on the north-east coast of Komodo.[3] The park is rich in marine life, including whale sharks, ocean sunfish, manta rays, eagle rays, pygmy seahorse, false pipefish, clown frogfish, nudibranchs, blue-ringed octopus, sponges, tunicates, and coral.

Kelimutu Lake

location : ende,flores - Indonesia

Kelimutu Lake on Mount Kelimutu, Ende, Flores consists of three crater lakes. . The colors of the lakes change over time due to volcanic activity which started millions of years ago.
Presently, these three lakes are black-green in the far east lake, green in the center lake, and black in the west lake. Previously, the east lake was red and the middle lake was blue.

The local community considers these lakes a sacred place being the abode of the souls of the dead. The name Kelimutu itself is derived from the word ‘keli’, meaning ‘mountain’, and ‘mutu’, meaning ‘boiling’. The east lake is also called “tiwu ata polo” or the lake for evil spirits, while the center

lake is known as “tiwu nua muri koo fai” or the lake for young souls, while the west lake is called “tiwu ata mbupu” or the lake for the souls of the elderly and wise people. Lake Kelimutu and its spectacular panorama are now a very popular tourist attraction.

According to the local officer at Kelimutu National Park, the colour

changed by chemical reaction of any minerals contained in the lake in triggered by volcano gas activity. The closest airports are Maumere, and Ende. There are regular flights to Maumere from Bali. The drive from Maumere to Moni, the town at the base of Keli Mutu, takes about 3 hours.

Prambanan Temple

location : Solo,Central Java -Indonesia

Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple compound located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta city on the boundary between Yogyakarta and Central Java province.

The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, currently is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia. It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples.

Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple of ancient Java, and the construction of this royal temple was probably started by Rakai Pikatan as the Hindu Sanjayas answer to the Buddhist Sailendra's Borobudur and Sewu temples nearby. Historians suggested that the construction of Prambanan probably was meant to mark the return of Hindu Sanjaya dynasty to power after almost a century fell under Buddhist Sailendra domination on Central Java. Nevertheless the construction of this massive Hindu temple signify that the Medang court has shifted its patronage from previously favour Mahayana Buddhism to Shivaist Hinduism.

A temple was first built at the site around 850 CE by either Rakai Pikatan or Balitung Maha Sambu the Sanjaya king of the Mataram Kingdom. According to Shivagrha inscription that wrote chandrasengkala ”Wwalung gunung sang wiku” (778 Saka/856 M), the temple was built to honor lord Shiva and the original name of the temple is Shiva-grha (the house of Shiva). Indeed, some archaeologists propose that the idol of Shiva in the garbhagriha (central chamber) of the main temple is modelled after King Balitung, serving as a depiction of his deified self after death.

The temple compound was expanded by successive Mataram kings such as Daksa and Tulodong with the addition hundreds of perwara temples around the chief temple. Prambanan served as the royal temple of the Hindu Kingdom of Mataram, with most of the state's religious ceremonies and sacrifices being conducted there. At the height of the Mataram kingdom, scholars estimate that hundreds of Brahmins with their disciples lived within the outer wall of the temple compound. The urban center and the court of Mataram were located nearby, somewhere in the Prambanan Plain.


article from : wikipedia

Lake Toba

Located :
in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra

Lake Toba is the site ofa supervolcanic eruption that occurred 69,000-77,000 years ago, a massive climate-changing event. The eruption is believed to have had a VEI intensity of 8. It is believed to be the largest explosive eruption anywhere on Earth in the last 25 million years.
According to the Toba catastrophe theory to which some anthropologists and archeologists subscribe, it had global consequences, killing most humans then alive and creating a population bottleneck in Central Eastern Africa

and India that affected the genetic inheritance of all humans today.[5] This theory however, has been largely debated as there is no evidence for any other animal decline or extinction, even in environmentally sensitive species.[6] However, it has been accepted that the eruption of Toba led to a volcanic winter with a worldwide decline in temperatures between 3-5 degrees C, and up to 15 degrees C in higher latitudes

article from : wikipedia

Borobudur

Location :
magelang, central java , Indonesia

is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument
The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). During the journey the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades.

Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the 14th-century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.