The Hidden Paradise
Raja Ampat is the western island of Papua Island and consists of over 610 islands. The four largest islands are Waigeo, Salawati, Misool and Batanta.
The name of Raja Ampat is based on a legend.
Once upon a time, a husband and wife were going into the forest to look for food. When they got to the bank of the River Waikeo, they saw 6 dragon eggs. They took them home. During the night, they heard whispers and after investigating where the whispers were coming from they were surprised to find that the eggs had hatched and brought forth 4 boys and a girl. One egg did not hatch. The clothes they wore indicated that they were descended from royalty. The children were named as follows:
The King of Waigeo was War
The King of Salawati was Betani
The King of Lilinta (Misool) was Dohar
The King of Waigama (Batanta) was Mohamad
The girl was named Pintolee and when she was found to be pregnant, her brothers placed her in a shell and sent her floating to Numfor Island.
The egg that refused to hatch was named Kapatuai and turned into a stone. It was still treated as a King and was kept in a room that was special with guardians represented by 2 other stones.
The people of Raja Ampat are very respectful of the eggs and a house was put up by the Waikeo River as a home for them. It is now the object of worship for the people of that locality.
The unspoiled islands and its still beautiful sea make tourists instantly captivated. Raja Ampat Islands lies at the heart of the world’s triangle coral triangle (Coral Triangle) and is the center of the richest tropical marine biodiversity in the world today. The main reason why tourists come to visit Raja Ampat ist for diving. The area's reefs are covered in a diverse selection of both hard and soft corals. It is the world’s most bio-diverse marine region with more recorded fish, coral and mollusc species than anywhere else on the planet.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
If you think on the Maldives there are the best spot for diving you have not been to Raja Ampat. I was flashed by the colourful underwaterworld. From sharks to huge shoals of fish or small nudibranches, there is something for everyone. The visibility ranges between 15-30 metres and the water temperature is constant 28 or 29 degrees celcius.
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