Lava Tourism in Ketep Pass, Central Java

This place called Ketep Pass because its located in a hill in Ketep village, Central Java. Placed between Merapi and Merbabu Mountain and 30 km from Magelang city and 35 km from Boyolali city. The main attraction of Ketep Pass is the lava river that flows from the mouth of Merapi every night.
Many young villagers will rent you a binocular to see more closely the lava river in Merbabu and Merapi’s peak. Its only cost Rp.1000,- to borrow their binocular.

Get There
From Magelang it takes one hour journey, do not forget to enjoy the fresh air of natural forest that exist beside you.


Food
You can buy some grill sweet corn in many kiosk in parking area or in restaurants that serves many kinds of food.


Facilities

Volcano Theatre
Mini theatre with 50 seats capacity and good display and sound system. Here you can watch the documentary movies about Mount Merapi, Merbabu, Sumbing and Sindoro and every eruption that have been exposed, including the great eruption of Merapi in 1994. Cost: Rp.3000,-

Volcano Center
The information center about the volcano mountains all over the world with the main “actor” Merapi Mountain. It will describe you about the basic form of volcano mountains and geological information in photographs, pictures and maps in large scale and miniature of Merapi Mountain.
It also serves multimedia computers access for searching more completed information about volcano mountains, such as: looking for active volcano, the process and the result of erupting.
Volcano center also has opportunity for you to try many gadgets and tools for detecting and monitoring activities of volcano mountains.

Panca Arga Hall
The circle hall where you can see five different big mountains (Mount Merapi, Merbabu, Sindoro, Sumbing and Slamet) and also many little mountains in all degrees. In Indonesian words, five named “panca”.

And of course…Restaurants
After you finished seeing the Ketep Pass’s beauty, you can relax and eat many of traditional or western food here.

Green Canyon, West Java

Read carefully, this place is not ‘Grand Canyon’ but it’s ‘Green Canyon’. Green Canyon is the name of one tourism destination in Cijulang Village, West Java. Green Canyon is located near Pangandaran Beach, so don’t forget to visit this one when you go to Pangandaran. Green Canyon refers to cukang taneuh, means Bridge from Soil.
This place located in the head of Cijulang River has a nature’s view such as: water fall, reef wall and cave with stalagmit and stalagtit. It takes one day to explore Green Canyon beauty.
You will enjoy Green Canyon ‘s nature by boat. You will passl the tropical forest and very tall soil wall beside to travel to the head of the river. The Green Canyon is like a giant cave with 50 meters cliff aside. This cliff sourounding by tree’s root and natural giant dome with completed stalagmit and stalagtit.
If you are looking for more beautiful view, you can go to the water fall. Unfortunately, you cant go there by boat so you must swim against raft along 200 meters. For tips: If you are not a good swimmer, please don’t try to this. The risk is to much bigger, many of visitor accident because they are tired when swimming along 200 meters.

How to Get There
It takes eight hours journey to go to Green Canyon from Jakarta by bus from Kampung Rambutan Terminal. Take a bus with Pagandaran destination, after you arrive in Pangandaran, take the urban vehicle to get to Cijulang, it will takes 45 minutes.

Cost
Totally, you will only need Rp.180.000,-/person to visit Green Canyon include:
Transportation : Rp.50.000,-
Entrance Fee (included boat, retribution and insurance): Rp.51.000,-
Meal and Shopping : Rp.50.000,-
Unexpected : Rp.29.000,-

Marvelous Diving Experience in Weh Island

The most northwestern island of Indonesia offers truly world class diving with clear waters and impressive under water landscapes. Here, where the Andaman Sea meets the Indian Ocean, the deep waters and currents around the island sustain an unbelievable amount and variety of marine life, ranging from tiny critters to grand pelagic's .
In Weh Island, Sabang, there are many of beautiful coral reef with many colors, forms to enjoy, such as: Karang Lupas, karang Rusa, karang kerupuk. Beside of coral reef, there are many varieties of sea fish, like: angel fish, tropet fish, dunsel fish, sergeon fish, grope fish, parrot fish et cetera.
The main attraction of Weh is the diving besides surfing, swimming, fishing and travelling with traditional boat.
How to come up to Weh:
Take a night bus from Medan to Banda Aceh, then the morning fast ferry and reach Gapang Beach before noon, or fly from Medan and be here late afternoon the same day!

Stay & relax here:
Gapang offers the widest choice in accommodation, from cheap basic wooden huts to comfortable bungalows. Sure you will find something to fit your taste n budget.

Facilities:
Diving centre, Mosque, Shelter, Lighthouse and parks

Favorite Diving Sites on Weh

1. Batee Dua Gapang: Gapang's house reef
Just snorkel out to Batee Dua (Two Rocks) and start the deep part of your dive at 30 m and head back to the shallower reef closer to the beach. Look out for the reef sharks, the manta or eagle rays in the blue and the loads of blue-spotted ribbontail rays and blue spotted stingrays. Or make a long shallow beach dive and stay in the bay part of our house reef. Till 14 m you’ll see different hard corals and big waving leather corals. Our 4 local residential hawksbill turtles are found here. The house reef is densely populated by scorpion and lion fishes. Special are the brown and yellow coloured leaf scorpion fishes and the small size bi and even tri-occelated lionfish. Look for frog fishes, see razor fishes, an abundance of butterfly fishes, schools of red tooth triggerfishes and more. The banded sea snake and the look alike snake eel can be studied from close by. Whale sharks have been seen in the months September, October, November while snorkeling and even once during a special night dive (!) just 30 m of the beach in front of our shop!

2. Batee Meuroron
Is just 5 minutes from Gapang, but a less frequented dive site. It’s a rocky outcrop, where strong currents can sweep through. It is a place to see clown fishes in their anemones, giant reef rays and other stingrays, turtles, different kinds of moray eels and big schools of black snappers hanging out in the shallow water at safety stop level between the rocks.

3. Rubiah Seagarden
Famous for its shallow colourful coral gardens. From 10 m down follow the rocky slope with big branching hard corals till over 30 m before hitting sandy bottom. See colourful nudibranches and flatworms. And a couple of amazingly red fluorescent bubble anemones at 13 m. You are almost sure to find the beautiful honeycomb morays here, of which some of them are often on the move, so you can see them free swimming in full length! Check out the difference if you spot a black spotted or black blotched moray, both quite similar to the honeycomb moray as well.

4 Rubiah Utara (Rubiah North)
A dive here starts on the north point of Rubiah Island by following the rocky outline to the north. The deep part till over 30m offers beautiful scenery with huge boulders and gigantic seafans forming a dense cover of orange, pink & red colours. Coming back up to the 18 m level you’ll reach a remarkable field full with white whip gorgonians like an underwater savannah. Sharks, giant reefrays, schools of fusiliers, trevallies, snappers, butterfly fishes. This dive site is only diveable in no current or mild current conditions.

5. Arus Balee (Widow's current)
Arus Balee is the name for the water passage around a rocky pinnacle situated between the islands of Seulako and Rubiah. Appropriately nicknamed by the Acehnese Arus Palee, which means bastard current ;-), this narrow passage often sees lots of current as well as sharks and other current loving sea creatures, making it a very popular dive site. Best site for a kaleidoscopic moving palette of colours displayed by underwater “rivers” of hundreds and hundreds of neon bright fusiliers… enjoy the show! Also our best site for spotting Blue ribbon eels; here you can easily manage to find both the black juvenile as well as the blue male adult, and sometimes even the yellow female adult. The dive site that became best described with the words of one of our former Divemaster Trainees (Thierry, a French chef cook, 1998): “It’s like diving in the fish soup Bouillabaisse…!!!”

6. Seulako’s Drift
For specifically “flying WHILE diving”, we only schedule this site with its long steep slope for when we expect currents to be strongest. We enter south of Seulako Island and drift along the island to the north, sometimes making it all the way till past nr. 8, Batee Tokong, with maybe a safety stop in the blue. During the dive soar over the rocks, hard corals and gorgonians in the deep and the fields of soft leather corals in the shallow. Put your hands down on some bare rock, and let the current push you over into making a somersault. Big fun!

7. Batee Tokong & 8. Shark Plateau (often dived separately)
With its spectacular scenery and it’s abundance of marine life, Batee Tokong tends to be a favourite site for most short and long term divers in Pulau Weh. It takes approximately 20 minutes by boat.
“It’s the Nr. 1 Moray place in the world”, as all visitors so far have agreed on: giant, fimbriated, white eye, snowflake, whitemouth, yellowhead, zebra and yellow margined. Blue ribbon eels reaching out for orange anthiases, honey comb morays living together with their giant cousins and our local unique variety of the masked moray outnumbering all these other morays together by far. Hover above a few square metres of rocks and count at least a dozen of these morays sticking their heads out of their hiding places.
Batee Tokong, which translates as ‘Central Rock’, is a round plateau with one of the rocks sticking out of the water forming a vertical wall till 20 m. A steep slope densely covered with fan gorgonions continues downwards till well over 40 m, where a second wall starts. On the north side you’ll find a 24-28 m deep plateau, ‘Shark Plateau’, where black and white tip reef sharks, gray sharks and the occasional silvertip are met. Marbled & giant groupers play hide and seek along the slopes, black snappers, giant and big eye trevallies, big blacktongue unicorn fish and barracuda’s try to induce vertigo to all divers swimming in their midst, while big needle fish circle high above all this, just under the surface. Deeper down bluefin trevallies hunt together with yellow goat fish and 2 or 3 long face emperors. See octopuses, lionfish, scorpion fish, frog fish, nudibranchs close to the bottom. Butterfly fish, triggerfish and the beautiful bignose unicornfish fish. And nice to watch the last one upside down to see their funny behaviour of having an upward “shower” in your bubbles of “air”. And don’t forget to look up once in a while anyway, as an eagle ray or a formation of devil rays might be passing over your head.

9. Pantee Ideu
Deep submerged reef around 100 m from the island’s shoreline. Because of it’s usual exceptionally good viz you can look “for miles” and have a splendid panoramic view of this reef with it’s spectacular underwater landscape of big boulders covered with huge gorgonians, sponges and big branching hard corals. Making your way back to the shore, end the dive between the beautiful coral boulders and table corals in the 10 m depth range. Good place for Napoleon wrasse in the deep, and (non aggressive) nesting yellow margined triggerfish in the shallows (the species one size down from it’s notorious “Titan” nephew, which by the way is usually a much more peaceful bloke in Pulau Weh as compared to it’s reputation in many other places).

10. Batee Gla (Slippery Rock)
The rocks at this location form a ridge from the surface sloping down to more than 40 m deep. The massive rock formation with its pinnacles and swim throughs offers a spectacular view, and combined with the usual current that sweeps past, it’s as if flying over a mountain ridge in a hangglider or a small plane. At 18 m you’ll find an underwater beach with a whole bunch of garden eels poking their heads into the current. Good location for seeing bumphead parrotfish in the shallower areas. Usually great viz for fully enjoying the view.

11. Pantee Aneuk Seuke or ‘The Canyon’
Another favorite divesite.
When the current is heading north, a typical dive starts with a descent in the south to the cave (1) at around 29m. In the shelter of the gorgonian-covered wall (2) it is usually very busy with all kind of small fishes. Often you’ll see big schools of barracudas. Going down to the end of the wall at around 40-45m watch out for sharks and eagle- or manta rays passing by.
During the ascent towards the canyon (3) you can hover over the beautiful gorgonian garden. The canyon measures at its narrowest space only 1.80m and is “home” of some napoleon-wrasses.
Further north it’s like a ‘ceremony’ to swim through the arch (4) before ending up the dive on top of the reef.
But if there is a lot of plankton in the water, the end of the dive will end above the rocks in the shallow water, looking out for the manta rays that cruise around the coastal line in their search for food.

12. Pantee Peunateung
(Written by Ben, Divemaster Trainee, 2001)
Meaning Rice field terrace, this is a deep dive site with the bottom well beyond the regular limits of recreational diving. The reef runs North to South and be seen clearly in the water when deep ocean waves hit it and rise up as the reef causes a sudden change in depth.
The direction the site is dived is determined by the currents, if the tide is going to high, the current usually flows from South to North. I usually prefer best to start the dive at the North and head south. Once in the water we descend over the shallow part of the reef and make our way to the drop off which starts at around 30 m and drops to 70 m +. When swimming to the drop off look out for schools of barracuda both chevron and yellow tailed, large schools of trevallies can also been seen. Moray eels are often seen amongst the rocks, but it’s best not to spend too much time here as it’s best deep!
The drop off starts at about 30 m and is pretty much vertical, the wall is covered in large gorgonian sea fans which thrive in the current and nutrient rich water. If conditions are favorable a dive to about 45 m is good, but often a down current, caused by water falling down the drop off, calls for caution, it’s easy to go too deep here! While deep, keep a look out for sharks – black tips, white tips and gray reef sharks. Only once have I not seen a shark here! Every so often look up to the surface for eagle rays, often seen here and maybe a manta ray. On a clear sunny day looking up at the sun with the wall and gorgonians in sight can be quite special.
We ascend slowly up the wall to the shallows again looking for barracuda and big fish, swim at 20 m for a while looking in the rocks for octopi, morays, nudibranch and lobster. If we reach one of the small sand filled canyons you could head up it. This is nice looking for more lobsters. At around 10-12 m you can start to feel the surge caused by the waves passing overhead. The surge is often good fun to play in as you fly past rocks and fish; the shallows sometimes have bump head parrot fish, which are always good fun to watch. Turtles are commonly seen here in the shallows.
At 50 bars do a safety stop and if things are nice, stay down till 30 bars looking for more sharks.

13. Lhong Angen and Pantee Gua
A shore dive location and a nearby underwater pinnacle on the west side of Pulau Weh. Both less frequented dive sites, but occasionally chosen when conditions elsewhere are less favourable.

14. Limbo Gapang
Also a less frequented dive site, even though it’s just one or two minutes by boat straight out from Gapang Beach. You’ll find an abundance of nudibranchs, flatworms and mushroom corals on this underwater hill with it’s top at 7m. The turtles from Gapang Beach sometimes visit this area, which in fact is still an extension of the Batee Dua Rocks on the house reef.

15. WW II Wreck "Sophie Rickmers"
The 134 m long “Sophie Rickmers” is an impressive wreck, covered with corals, situated in the sheltered bay of Pria Laot. The cargo steam ship was built in1920 in Germany. During WW II, the “Sopie Rickmers” was one of the 5 ships which were confiscated by the Dutch on May 10, 1940 in the waters around Pulau Weh. However, the crew of "Sophie Rickmers" sunk their own ship at that same day.
The wreck is home to a giant grouper, giant morays and giant trevallies. A school of unicorn file fishes often swims past to add some confusion of “whatizat?” to your nitrogen narcosis, and schools of batfishes accompany you down and up along the mooring line. Most special fish to try and remember to notice, is probably the black-spot angelfish (Genicanthus melanospilos). Usually rare to find because of it’s preference for deeper waters, it’s fairly abundant on this wreck, if you just don’t forget to look for it. With the wheelhouse at 37 m, the decks at around 45 m and the straight bow resting on the bottom at over 55 m deep, we organize the wreck dive as a special decompression dive for experienced deep divers only.

16. Wreck Tugboat
In the harbour of Sabang the tugboat wreck lies in 14 m of water. A very relaxed macro dive and ideal for shallow afternoon dives, or night dives. Spot the banded and ghost pipefish, crocodile fish, spiny lobsters, nudibranchs, cleanershrimps, bi-occelated and common lionfish.
On the way back we often stop for a 10 minute shallow (5 - 10 m) dive in the streams of hot spring bubbles of the underwater volcano in the bay of Pria Loat. A unique experience.

17. Sumur Tiga
For a relaxed drift over the shallow unspoiled and beautifully coloured coral gardens along the Sumur Tiga beach. On the way there, or while going back, often dolphins come and play in front of our boat, a big extra treat for going that way.

18. Anoi Hitam
A new dive site which we’ve started to combine regularly with the Batee Meuduro daytrip. Get surrounded by the many sweetlips and numerous other schools of fish here, and enjoy the incredible density of all kinds of Acropora hard corals in the shallows.

19. Batee Meuduro
Situated 70 minutes away on the south side of Pulau Weh. This is surely one of Pulau Weh’s top dive sites, but due to it’s distance is mostly operated as a 2 tank daytrip. Visibility is usually very good here and the often fierce currents around this pinnacle attract lots of pelagics; tuna, mackerel, huge schools of barracuda’s, napoleon wrasse, manta and eagle rays, lots of different sharks, amongst which even the amazing thresher sharks! The shallow plateau is covered with huge table corals, a perfect hiding place for lobsters, stone fish, sleeping baby sharks and more.

Raja Ampat, Exotic Diving Experience

Wayag island is one of the tourism destination in Raja Ampat, West Papua Province. It takes three hours by the speedboat from Waisai, Central of Raja Ampat. The coral reef is the main attractive in Raja Ampat. It's really amazing when you see the little hills.
But as tourism destination, Raja Ampat do not have a good facilties. There are only 2 resort: Kri Resort and Sorido Resort and also has only two cottages in Saonek Island and two homestay in Yenwaupnor. For the tips: If you want to visit Raja Ampat, please use the travel agent which has a liveaboard service, it will makes you feel better while you're enjoying Raja Ampat's nature.
Menurut pria yang sudah menyelam di berbagai tempat di Indonesia maupun mancanegara ini, pemandangan bawah laut di Kepulauan Raja Ampat sangat menakjubkan. "Saya menemukan tiga kuda laut yang tidak pernah ada di tempat lain. Terumbu karangnya juga sangat bagus, seperti taman di bawah laut," katanya.

Memang laut di sekitar Kepulauan Raja Ampat sangat kaya dengan organisme laut dan dihuni oleh terumbu karang paling asli di Indonesia.

Pulau-pulau ini termasuk dalam Segi Tiga Karang (Coral Triangle) yang terdiri dari Indonesia, Filipina, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Jepang, dan Australia. Kawasan Coral Triangle ini dikenal sebagai kawasan yang memiliki keanekaragaman hayati laut terkaya di dunia.

Kondisi karang di Raja Ampat 60% dalam kondisi sangat baik serta memiliki kombinasi keragaman karang dan ikan yang terbaik. Sebaliknya, 17% terumbu karang alam kondisi jelek, namun terletak di teluk tersembunyi yang tingkat pengendapan lumpurnya tinggi.

Selain itu, kepulauan yang memiliki luas sekitar 43.000 km2 ini juga ditemukan 828 spesies ikan karang. Peneliti memperkirakan ada sedikitnya 1.084 spesies ikan di kepulauan yang memiliki 44 pulau ini.

Formasi karang di Selat Dampier, yang terletak di antara bagian utara Pulau Batanta dan selatan Pulau Waigeo-Gam, merupakan daerah yang sangat kaya spesies ikan karangnya.

Tim ekspedisi sempat melakukan riset di perairan tersebut. Widodo Pranowo, anggota tim ekspedisi yang bekerja untuk Departemen Kelautan dan Perikanan mengatakan kondisi perairan Kepulauan Raja Ampat masih dipengaruhi oleh massa air dari Samudra Pasifik Barat (Western Pasific Ocean). Hal ini menunjukkan ada arus yang bergerak dari arah timur menuju timur laut dan sejajar dengan daratan besar Papua (Mainland) bagian utara.

"Ketika tiba di Laut Halmahera atau di utara Raja Ampat arus tersebut sebagian akan bergerak ke selatan memasuki Alur Pelayaran Jailolo dan sebagian besar yang lain akan berbalik arah menuju Samudra Pasifik lagi. Arus inilah yang dikenal sebagai Halmahera Eddy. Kami juga menduga bahwa ketika Arus Halmahera Eddy ini sebelum tiba di Laut Halmahera, ada sebagian kecil yang membelok memasuki Selat Dampier," ujarnya.

Menurut Widodo, tingkat kesuburan perairan di Raja Ampat sangat bagus, terbukti dengan banyaknya ikan-ikan besar pemakan plankton seperti ikan Manta Ray, dan beberapa jenis paus.

Sementara itu anggota tim riset yang lain, Andreas A Hutahean mengungkapkan kepulauan Raja Ampat sangat terkenal dengan keanekaragaman ikan-ikan karangnya yang tertinggi di dunia.

Terdapat lebih dari 1.084 spesies ikan terdapat di daerah ini yang secara garis besar dibagi menjadi tiga kelompok yang dominan, yakni ikan-ikan gobi (Gobiidae), ikan damsel (Pomacentridae), dan ikan maming (Labridae).

Khusus untuk jenis Pomacentridae Indonesia, terutama Raja Ampat, memiliki keanekaragaman yang tertinggi di dunia yang diikuti oleh Papua New Guinea, Australia, Thailand, Kepulauan Fiji, dan Maladewa.

Ekosistem terumbu karang di Raja Ampat, menurut Andreas, sama seperti perairan laut terbuka lainnya yang merupakan daerah yang oligotropik (miskin unsur hara atau nutrien). Namun uniknya, ekosistem terumbu karangnya jauh lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan perairan laut terbuka lainnya.

Menurut Andreas, keadaan ini sempat menjadi misteri selama beberapa dasawarsa. "Mengapa daerah yang miskin unsur hara bisa memiliki tingkat keanekaragaman hayati nomor dua tertinggi di dunia setelah hutan tropis di Amazone, Brasil?"

Andreas mengungkapkan hal ini disebabkan sifat dari ekosistem terumbu karang yang mempunyai sifat bisa mengelola makanan sendiri bagi organisme-organisme di dalam ekosistem tersebut secara aktif.

Andreas mencontohkan, pada pagi hari ditemukan adanya lapisan kental atau lendir di permukaan air di dekat pantai. Ternyata lendir tersebut kaya unsur protein dan hara. "Lapisan lendir ini ternyata yang menjadi sumber makanan bagi plankton di daerah terumbu karang. Sehingga rantai makanan mulai dari level produsen (plankton) hingga level konsumen tingkat atas (ikan karnivora/pemakan daging) terpenuhi," ujarnya.

Berdasarkan hasil pengukuran, kondisi perairan Raja Empat memiliki kondisi yang sangat bagus, di mana salinitasnya berkisar antara 33-34 PSU. Kemudian temperatur di permukaan berkisar antara 28 derajat Celsius di kedalaman tertentu hingga 27 derajat Celsius. Kemudian penetrasi cahaya matahari bisa mencapai hingga 30-37 meter. "Hal ini menyebabkan terumbu karang dapat tumbuh dengan baik," katanya.

Walaupun terkenal sebagai tempat yang kaya keanekaragaman hayatinya, tim ekspedisi menemukan adanya dampak penangkapan ikan secara berlebihan. "Ikan napoleon atau maming yang sering dijadikan indikator besarnya penangkapan ikan, jarang kami temui selama penyelaman," ujarnya.

Selain itu, di daerah yang berpenduduk 48.707 jiwa ini, ada juga ditemukan tanda-tanda kerusakan habitat. Kerusakan ini disebabkan cara pengambilan ikan dengan bom atau racun.

Menurut penduduk sekitar, penangkapan ikan dengan cara itu awalnya dilakukan oleh nelayan dari luar Papua. Namun sekarang sudah ada putra daerah yang melakukan hal tersebut, karena cara pembuatan bom atau racun sudah dikuasai.

Selain penangkapan ikan yang merusak lingkungan, penebangan liar juga terjadi d kawasan cagar alam di Pulau Waigeo. Padahal Raja ampat memiliki potensi cukup besar untuk pengembangan wisata laut dan darat.

Keunikan dunia bawah laut dan hutan di kawasan itu sudah selayaknya dijaga dari ancaman perusakan alam. Sangat disayangkan bila surga dunia itu dihancurkan untuk kepentingan sesaat.

ANDA penikmat panorama kehidupan bawah laut? Coba bandingkan lokasi yang Anda ketahui dengan kawasan laut di Kabupaten Raja Ampat. Kekaguman pasti segera terlontar. Selain panorama indah di atas permukaan laut, biota di dalam laut pun menjanjikan keindahan. Berbagai jenis ikan bermacam ukuran dan warna hilir mudik tiada henti. Beraneka ragam karang keras dan lunak menambah semarak kehidupan.

RAJA Ampat terletak di ujung paling barat Pulau Papua. Informasi keindahan alam kabupaten ini tidak ditemui dalam buku panduan wisata reguler di Indonesia. Segala cerita dan foto mengenai daerah ini justru berasal dari dunia maya: Internet. Orang- orang bule yang berprofesi sebagai peneliti kehidupan laut, penyelam profesional, fotografer atau turis biasa membuat situs tentang kabupaten ini.

Karena keindahan alamnya, Raja Ampat menjadikan pariwisata-terutama wisata bahari-sebagai salah satu andalan kegiatan ekonomi. Saat ini ada satu perusahaan penanaman modal asing (PMA) yang mengembangkan wisata bahari di Raja Ampat. Sebagian besar yang datang menikmati panorama alam Raja Ampat adalah warga asing.

Kabupaten Raja Ampat merupakan pemekaran Kabupaten Sorong. Kabupaten ini resmi menjadi daerah otonom pada 12 April 2003. Luas wilayahnya lebih kurang 46.000 kilometer persegi. Sekitar 85 persen merupakan luas laut. Sisanya, sekitar 6.000 kilometer persegi, merupakan daratan. Kabupaten ini memiliki 610 pulau. Empat di antaranya, yakni Pulau Misool, Salawati, Batanta, dan Waigeo, merupakan pulau-pulau besar. Dari seluruh pulau, hanya 35 pulau yang berpenghuni. Pulau lainnya tidak berpenghuni dan sebagian besar belum memiliki nama.

Karena begitu banyak pulau tidak berpenghuni, tidak jarang warga negara lain memanfaatkan keberadaan pulau itu. Kepulauan Asia, misalnya, yang terdiri atas Pulau Fani, Igi, dan Miarin. Kepulauan itu merupakan bagian Kecamatan Ayau, wilayah paling utara Kabupaten Raja Ampat. Daerah ini berbatasan dengan Negara Palau. Pulau-pulau yang terpencil itu sering dimanfaatkan sebagai tempat berlindung dari badai oleh nelayan-nelayan Filipina.

Sebagai daerah kepulauan, satu-satunya transportasi antarpulau dan penunjang kegiatan masyarakat Raja Ampat adalah angkutan laut. Demikian juga untuk menjangkau Waisai, ibu kota kabupaten. Bila menggunakan pesawat udara, lebih dulu menuju Kota Sorong. Setelah itu, dari Sorong perjalanan ke Waisai dilanjutkan dengan transportasi laut. Sarana yang tersedia adalah kapal cepat berkapasitas 10, 15, atau 30 orang. Dengan biaya sekitar Rp 2 juta, Waisai dapat dijangkau dalam waktu 1,5 hingga dua jam.

Penduduk kabupaten ini tersebar di 88 kampung dan 10 distrik. Penggunaan nama kampung dan distrik sesuai dengan nomenklatur UU Nomor 21 Tahun 2001 tentang Otonomi Khusus bagi Provinsi Papua.

Sebagian besar (80 persen) penduduk bekerja sebagai nelayan. Sesuai dengan kondisi geografisnya, selain pariwisata, Raja Ampat juga mengandalkan perikanan dan kelautan.

Hampir semua wilayah perairan pantai dan laut di Kepulauan Raja Ampat berpotensi untuk pengembangan perikanan tangkap dan budidaya. Komoditas unggulan perikanan tangkap antara lain ikan tuna, cakalang, tenggiri, kerapu, napoleon wrasse, kakap merah, teripang, udang, dan lobster.

Daerah penangkapan ikan kerapu dan napoleon berada di perairan Waigeo Utara, Barat, dan Selatan, serta Kepulauan Ayau, Batanta, Kofiau, dan Misool. Teripang dan ikan tenggiri mudah ditemukan di hampir seluruh perairan kabupaten ini. Lobster banyak diperoleh di Waigeo, Misool, dan Kofiau. Cumi-cumi banyak ditemukan di Misool dan Waigeo Selatan.

Sayangnya, kabupaten ini belum mempunyai data produksi perikanan di wilayahnya. Kontribusi hasil perikanan bisa dilihat dari jumlah nilai yang diberikan Raja Ampat kepada Sorong saat daerah ini masih bagian Kabupaten Sorong. Ketika itu, dari hasil kegiatan ekonomi di usaha perikanan, setiap tahun Sorong menerima tidak kurang dari Rp 1,5 miliar.

Ikan hasil tangkapan nelayan selain konsumsi lokal juga dipasarkan ke daerah lain. Daerah tujuan bagi pemasaran teripang, rumput laut, serta cumi- cumi kering dan ikan teri kering adalah Makassar, Surabaya, dan Jakarta. Adapun lobster juga dikirim ke Bali.

Di pasar, harga ikan kerapu dan napoleon sekitar Rp 125.000 per kilogram (kg). Teripang Rp 30.000-Rp 150.000 per kg, sedangkan harga lobster Rp 40.000-Rp 60.000 per kg.

Perikanan budidaya yang menjadi komoditas unggulan saat ini adalah mutiara dan rumput laut. Ada lima perusahaan yang mengembangkan budidaya mutiara secara modern di kabupaten ini. Tiga di antaranya adalah PMA, sisanya adalah perusahaan penanaman modal dalam negeri (PMDN). Lokasi budidaya mutiara terdapat di Distrik Misool, Waigeo Barat, Waigeo Selatan, dan Batanta. Selain dijual ke pasar domestik, hasil budidaya mutiara diekspor ke Australia, Selandia Baru, Cina, dan Jepang.

Berdasarkan potensi masing- masing distrik, pemerintah kabupaten merencanakan pengembangan wilayah untuk empat sektor, yaitu pariwisata, perkebunan, pertambangan, dan perikanan.

Pariwisata, terutama wisata bahari, akan dikembangkan di Pulau Kofiau, Misool, Waigeo Selatan dan Barat, serta Kepulauan Ayau. Perkebunan dengan komoditas utama kelapa dalam dan kelapa sawit akan dipusatkan di Pulau Pam, Kofiau, dan Salawati. Kegiatan pertambangan dipusatkan di Pulau Salawati, Waigeo, Gag, Batanta, dan Misool. Di Salawati terdapat potensi batu bara dan migas. sedangkan Waigeo dan Gag memiliki nikel. Sementara itu, Batanta dan Misool masing-masing menyimpan potensi emas dan bahan baku pembuatan semen, sedangkan kegiatan perikanan diarahkan ke Kepulauan Ayau, Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, dan Kofiau.

Mount Bromo, East Java

Bromo isn't the highest mountain in Java — that honor goes to nearby Mount Semeru at 3,676m — but it's probably the most famous one. Bromo is in fact only one of many peaks inside the massive Tengger Caldera, but it's easily recognized as the entire top has been blown off and the crater inside constantly belches white sulphurous smoke. The inside of the caldera, aptly dubbed the Laut Pasir (Sea of Sand) is coated with fine volcanic sand and the overall effect is unsettlingly unearthly, especially when compared to the lush green valleys all around the caldera.
[edit] Orientation
The major access point is Cemoro Lawang at the northeast edge, but there are also trails from Tosari (northwest) and Ngadas (west). The village of Ngadisari, on the road from Probolinggo about 5.5 km before Cemoro Lawang, marks the entrance to the national park. Both Cemoro Lawang and Ngadisari are rather picturesque, with brightly-painted houses and flower beds outside.

Get in
By plane
The nearest major airport is in Surabaya, three hours away by car (and more by bus).

By bus
The nearest larger town is Probolinggo, on the north coast of Java. It's about one hour from Probolinggo to Ngadisari and another half hour all the way to Cemoro Lawang, and it's (just) possible to visit on a day trip, although most visitors prefer to climb overnight and see the sunrise.
To go there, take a 'Damai' shuttle bus from the Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, to go to the Bungasih bus terminal. Then, take an express Patas air-conditioned bus for a 2-3 hours ride from Surabaya to Probolinggo.

Get around
It's a fairly easy 3-km hike from Cemoro Lawang to the foot of Mount Bromo. Alternatively, you can hire a pony to do the drudge work for you, or have it even easier and do the trip by jeep. Private cars are not allowed inside the caldera. You can join the jeep package at Rp40.000 per person at the Probolinggo entrance office. On the next morning 4am, the jeep departs from hotel to catch the sunrise at Mount Batok (costs Rp40.000 per person for entering the compound). After the sunrise, go down to Mount bromo. You can hire a horse (Rp50.000) to bring you up and then You walk thru the last stair-case to reach the top of Mount Bromo.

* Unfortunately, some overly-enthusiastic crowd members can be rather annoying with their loud laughters and blinding flashes. Therefore, it would be pleasant, if everyone try to maintain a certain level of decency so that the "sun-rise watch" experience becomes more enjoyable.

See & Do
Mt. Batok and the Sand Sea in the Tengger Caldera
Mt. Batok and the Sand Sea in the Tengger Caldera

When timing any activities in the area, bear in mind that sunset is soon after 5 PM and sunrise is correspondingly early at around 5:30 AM. This means you'll usually need to get up by 3:30 AM or so to get there in time for dawn.

* Mount Batok (2440m) is a brown volcanic cone at the north center of the caldera. Unlike the other nearby peaks it is no longer active and actually has some vegetation growing on it, mostly the local cemara tree that somehow manages to survive even on volcanic ash.

* Mount Bromo, edges tinged with white sulphur and always bubbling, is the main sight. To reach it on foot, pick the left fork at Cemoro Lawang's solitary crossing, then head down the ramp into the caldera and then across the caldera to the Hindu temple at the foot of the mountain. From the temple a steep path of 250 steps leads to the edge of the crater and a precarious meter-wide ledge from where to gaze into the volcano.

* Mount Penanjakan (2770m), located just north of the caldera, is a mountaintop viewpoint accessible by paved road from Tosari and hence popular with jeeps and even tour buses. Most of the crowd comes to see the dawn at 5 AM, and you'll likely have the large concrete observation post to yourself if you arrive later in the day.

* Viewpoint #2, along the trail from Cemoro Lawang to Mt. Penanjakan, is an excellent way to get a stunning view of the caldera (see pictures above) without the crowds. To reach it, head west from Cemoro Lawang (past Cemero Indah) for 6 km, past farms and fields. The paved road eventually turns into a twisty mountain trail that ends with a flight of stairs on the right, and the viewpoint (with concrete shelter) is at the top. Allow 1.5 hours for the climb up at a steady pace, and bring along a torch if attempting this at night.
o From here, you can continue onto Mt. Penanjakan by following the trail upward, after which the trail merges onto the paved road to the viewpoint (total time about 60 minutes one way). If planning to return the same way, mark the spot where the trail emerges onto the road (if you pass a stone lantern on the way down, you've gone too far!), and note that descending on this section can get slippery due to loose sand and rocks.

Buy
The most popular local product, at least based on the number of hawkers selling them, appears to be the Bromo hat, a colorful ski cap with "BROMO" embroidered on it.

Eat & Drink
Every lodge has an attached restaurant, and simple roadside warung sell basic Indonesian dishes and mugs of hot Javanese coffee (kopi panas). There is no nightlife in the party sense of the word, but all restaurants are open at 3 AM as that's when everybody wakes up to see dawn over Bromo.

Sleep
Colorful farm house, Cemoro Lawang
Colorful farm house, Cemoro Lawang

There are plenty of accommodation options around the mountain. Facilities at Cemoro Lawang side of the caldera are rather basic, but there are good hotels in Sukapura and Probolinggo.

* Bromo Cottages, Tosari, tel. +62-31-515253. Despite the name, it's actually an upmarket hotel. Net rates from US$47 for a double.
* Cemoro Indah, Cemoro Lawang. Bad reputation: hard sell of tours and transport, thefts reported, gas leaked from the water heater is a common problem, overpriced. It has a nice view of Mount Bromo and provide hot water. You can sit down in its restaurant and view the Mount Bromo directly.
* Lava View Lodge, Cemoro Lawang, tel. +62-335-541009. The most upmarket option in Cemoro Lawang, located at the caldera edge some 500m west of the village. Looks better from outside than in, but the rooms are clean and have hot water. Superior rooms are $40 with breakfast.
* Yoschi's, Ngadisari, tel. +62-335-541018. Cozy guesthouse done up to look like a Balinese temple. Note that the cheapest rooms here don't have hot water.

Stay healthy
Temperatures on Mount Bromo are refreshingly cool during the day (although sunburn is still a real danger), but outright cold at night, as temperatures can drop to zero in the summer and are rarely much above 5°C in winter. If needed, you can rent jackets and hats at Cemoro Lawang and the Penanjakan viewpoint.

Stay safe
Mount Bromo really is a live volcano that erupts with disturbing regularity: in 2004, two tourists were killed and five injured when the mountain spit out molten rock as far as the temple. Keep your distance if the mountain is acting up.
[edit] Get out

All roads into Mount Bromo are dead ends, so you'll have to go back the way you came unless you are an experienced hiker and prepared to hike across the caldera to villages on the other side.