BUNAKEN NATIONAL PARK, BOAT AND SNORKELING TOUR
Bunaken National Park is famously known for its underwater beauty. The coral reefs, drop-offs and all big and small colorful fishes are the charm of the national park. This tour package is offering snorkeling or diving adventure with unforgettable moments in Bunaken National Park and surrounding areas. Gear up your snorkeling equipment, and hop into the boat. Let’s play with the fish on the colorful coral reefs.
Bunaken National Park was formally established in 1991 and is among the first of Indonesia’s growing system of marine parks. The park covers a total surface area of 89,065 hectares, 97% of which is overlain by sparkling clear, warm tropical water. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen. Although each of these islands has a special character, it is the aquatic ecosystem that attracts most naturalists.
The waters of Bunaken National Park are extremely deep (1566 m in Manado Bay), clear (up to 35-40 m visibility), refreshing in temperature (27-29 C) and harbor some of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Pick any of group of interest – corals, fish, echinoderms or sponges – and the number of families, genera or species is bound to be astonishingly high. For example, 7 of the 8 species of giant clams that occur in the world, occur in Bunaken. The park has around 70 genera of corals; compare this to a mere 10 in Hawaii. Although the exact number of fish species is unknown, it may be slightly higher than in the Philippines, where 2,500 species, or nearly 70% of all fish species known to the Indo-western Pacific, are found.
Snorkeling and diving are the most favorable activities in Bunaken National Park. Getting there is less than one hour by boat from Manado.
MANADO, THE CAPITAL CITY
As a capital city of North Sulawesi, Manado has experienced many privilege to be more developed than other cities or town in North Sulawesi. Therefore, we can find many modern infrastructures here, which don’t exist in other cities or towns in North Sulawesi. It is been said that in Sulawesi, Manado is the second largest after Makassar in the south. And being compared to Makassar, Manado is more favorable for tourist destination. In the same time, the nature of the surrounding area is also magnificently scenic. Situated by the sea side, Manado offers panoramic sunsets that can be observed by the beach. Surrounded by several hills and mountains, Manado offer scenic view from higher ground too.
The people, at the other hand, are very friendly and open-minded too. They are not shy to express themselves in a presentable manner. Language can be barrier to them to talk to the visitors, but they will always be able to find a way to express their interests. Sometimes, it appears to be something exaggeratedly done. Nevertheless, most of the time their sole intentions are to bridge the awkwardness that are being caused by differences.
