Dive sites
Raja Ampat, one of the world's richest marine biodiversity
With more than 17,508 islands, Indonesia presents ample
diving opportunities. With 20% of the world's coral reefs, over 3,000 different
species of fish and 600 coral species, deep water trenches, volcanic sea
mounts, World War II wrecks, and an endless variety of macro life, scuba diving
in Indonesia is both excellent and inexpensive. Bunaken National Marine Park,
at the northern tip of Sulawesi, claims to have seven times more genera of
coral than Hawaii, and has more than 70% of all the known fish species of the
Indo-Western Pacific. According to Conservation International, marine surveys
suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest
recorded on Earth. Moreover, there are over 3,500 species living in Indonesian
waters, including sharks, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, morays, cuttlefish,
octopus and scorpionfish, compared to 1,500 on the Great Barrier Reef and 600
in the Red Sea. Tulamben Bay in Bali boasts the wreck of the 120 metres (390)
US Army commissioned transport vessel, the Liberty. Other popular dive sites on
Bali are at Candidasa and Menjangan. Across the Badung Strait from Bali, there
are several popular dive sites on Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida. Lombok's
three Gilis (Gili Air, GiliMeno and GiliTrawangan) are popular as is Bangka.
Some of the most famous diving sites in Indonesia are also the most difficult
to reach, with places like Biak off the coast of Papua and the Alor Archipelago
among the popular, more remote, destinations for divers.
Surf breaks
Surfing in Kuta beach, Bali
Surfing is also a popular water activity in Indonesia and
the sites are recognised as world class. The well-known sports are mostly
located on the southern, Indian Ocean side of Indonesia, for example, the large
oceanic surf breaks on southern Java. However, the north coast does not receive
the same surf from the Java Sea. Surf breaks can be found all the way along
Sumatra, down to Nusa Tenggara, including Aceh, Bali, Banten, Java, Lombok, the
Mentawai Islands, and Sumbawa. Although Indonesia has many world-class surfing
spots, the majority of surfers are came from abroad, especially Australia and
United States. However, the seed of local surfing enthusiast began develop in
Bali and West Java's PelabuhanRatu and Pangandaran beach, mostly came from
nearby cities of Jakarta and Bandung. On Bali, there are about 33 surf spots,
from West Bali to East Bali including four on the offshore island of Nusa
Lembongan. In Sumbawa, Hu'u and Lakey Beach in Cempi Bay are popular surfing
spots among surfing enthusiast. Sumatra is the second island, with the most
number of surf spots, with 18 altogether. The common time for surfing is around
May to September with the trade winds blowing from east to south-east. From
October to April, winds tend to come from the west to north-west, so the east
coast breaks get the offshore winds.
Two well-known surf breaks in Indonesia are the G-Land in
the Bay of Grajagan, East Java, and Lagundri Bay at the southern end of
Niasisland. G-Land was first identified in 1972, when a surfer saw the break
from the window of a plane. Since 6 to 8-foot (Hawaiian scale) waves were
discovered by surfers at Lagundri Bay in 1975, the island has become famous for
surfing worldwide.
