No one knows exactly how many islands there are in Indonesia, but with over 17,000 of them, its total coastlines sweep a staggering 80,000 kilometres, and its territorial waters claim 3.1 million square kilometres of sea. There are seas that hold some 15% of the world's coral reefs. They bloom in blue waters, awaiting a diver's discovery.
It's true. The waters of Indonesia offer the last vestiges of untapped tropical diving left on our planet. Here, islands are still revealed and stolen by the sea, seeded by the geological activity that cuts a great 5,000 kilometer arc from mainland Southeast Asia to New Guinea.
Strewn with fractious volcanoes marking the edge of a tectonic plate, the arc is lyrically dubbed as the "Ring of Fire."
This arc is traced by rugged islands blanketed iwth tropical flora. Emeral canopies where the jungle still reigns, rice fields of jade and gold where man has stamped his claim. It is a beauty that spills into the seas, encircling islands with rainbow-hued coral reefs where a myriad of marine creatures play.
Surprisingly, formal dive operations have only existed in Indonesia for the past ten years, in spite of a seafaring history that reads like an intricate fairy tale - woven of the fates of global empires across the ages. In its wake, Indonesia has been blessed with cultural and religious diversity as varied as the physical landscape of the nation.
This fourth largest country in the world is home to more than 195 million people - mainly Muslims - with substantial Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities. Indigenous tribes still exist in the remote reaches of Indonesia, from Kalimantan in Borneo to Irian Jaya in Eastern Indonesia. The presence of their pagan ancestry can still be seen, heard and felt by those who dare to breach the tourist frontiers.
While much of Indonesia's allure lies in its rich cultural tapestry and untamed wilderness, its cities and resorts are also famed for world-class visitor facilities - from businessmen looking for sybaritic luxuries, to urbanite adventure seekers unwilling to forgo all the mod cons. Divers are a fast growing breed of special visitors to Indonesia's many shores.
Depending on aptitude and attitude, there is diving to suit all desires. Land-based resort diving in gentle waters ideal for novices; offshore sites for the privilege of depths less known; luxury live-aboards for those after the adrenalin high of waters remote and pristine.
Coral gardens. Reef walls. Caves. Underwater colvanoes. Lagoon channels. Wrecks. indonesia has it all. And still more sites and depths are awaiting discovery... and a name.
Come, discover the other side of Indonesia. And learn a new meaning to the rapture of the deep.
Dive Java and other Java info.
Dive Bali
and other Bali info.
Dive Lombok
& Nusa Tenggara and other info about
West and
East Nusa Tenggara.
Dive Sulawesi and other
Sulawesi info.
Dive Maluku and
other Maluku info.
Dive Irian Jaya and
other Irian Jaya info.
Dive Riau Islands
and other Sumatera info.
Also, check travel notes for divers.
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