Diving in Bunaken & Siladen

Bunaken Marine Park was one of the first marine parks in Indonesia and includes Bunaken, Siladen, Manado Tua, Mantehage, and Nain Island. The area has outstanding marine biodiversity with staggering coral walls around Bunaken, the more recently discovered muck diving sites in Manado Bay and the stunning reefs around Bangka which, whilst not part of the park, are celebrated for their stunning soft corals, dugongs and marine biodiversity. Bright blue waters, abundant marine life, healthy reefs, a thriving turtle population, resident dolphins and migrating pilot and sperm whales are definite highlights.

Bunaken Island is a part of Bunaken National Park and is located on the northern tip of Sulawesi. Island’s claim to fame is its potential as a great scuba diving site. The influx of tourists on the island is mostly because of serious scuba divers heading this way. Over the last few years, however, amateur and casual divers have also started taking interest in this area and more and more of them are thronging Bunaken Island. An island is an amazing place for not only diving but also for snorkelling. Bunaken also offers excellent opportunities for hiking the northern and eastern coves, fishing (but certainly not in the parking area), boat trips and whale/dolphin watching trips. The diversity of the area can be judged from the fact that nearly 70 per cent of the total species found in Indo-Western Pacific can be seen in Bunaken National Park.