Ora Beach: Hidden Paradise of Central Maluku

As the country with the second longest coastline in the world, Indonesia is home to countless beautiful beaches, and has won numerous awards for such. One of these beaches is Ora Beach, carefully hidden away on the North Coast of Seram Island. An exotic and extremely remote destination, Ora beach is perfect for Eco-travellers and honeymooners alike. A row of cozy, wooden cottages line the sandy, white beaches, overlooking the crystal clear waters of Sawai Bay, and with a backdrop of limestone cliffs and majestic mountains, covered in lush, tropical greenery. Seram island is most famous for its abundant bird life. Of 117 species found on the island, 14 are endemic to Seram.

Seram is the largest island in the Maluku province, measuring approximately 16,000 square kilometers, yet is home to a population of only about 170,000. It lies just north of the smaller and more historically renowned island of Ambon. Maluku Province is located between Indonesia’s larger islands of Sulawesi and Papua. Seram’s geographic location amidst several tectonic plates, gives the island a remarkably complex terrain. A central mountain range runs across the island, its highest mountain, Gunung Binaya, peaking at just over 3,000 meters. The island is covered mostly in dense, tropical rain forests, bordered on one side by towering cliffs and the other by sandy white beaches, and finally encircled by a crystal blue sea.

source : http://www.indonesia.travel/en/destination/927/-ora-beach

The Banda Islands: Eastern Indonesia's Best Kept Secret

Since the first century AD, the Banda islands have been the sole producers of the fragrant nutmeg and mace for which Chinese, Indian, and Arab ships traveled across the seas. These precious spices could be sold at enormous profit in foreign markets.

The people of Banda thrived on their natural resources, but in later years suffered at the hands of Dutch colonizers who wanted to dominate the world’s spice trade.
Despite such a big reputation, the fabled Banda islands are only a tiny cluster of islands, composed of three large islands and seven smaller ones. The islands are perched on the rim of Indonesia's deepest underwater gorge, the Banda Sea, where waters can reach depths of over 6,500 meters.

Two of the biggest islands, Banda Besar and Naira, are covered with nutmeg trees. The third island, Gunung Api or ‘peak of fire’, is an active volcano that emerges from the deep in a perfect cone, and is entirely rugged and highly volcanic. In the waters surrounding these islands you’ll find some of the world’s most spectacular marine gardens, with bright corals and colorful fish, bustling through the crystal-clear waters, making it suitable for diving, snorkeling or even simply sightseeing.

Lying about 132 kilometers southeast of Ambon, the islands are a remote and exquisitely beautiful part of Indonesia. With multi-colored reefs, warm seas and exotic marine life, the Banda’s are a haven for divers who come from around the world to explore some of the most remote and unspoiled dive sites in the world.

Today, Banda attracts divers, sailors and cruise ships from around the world by its sheer natural beauty, both above as below the sea, which can only be matched by Raja Ampat, Papua; another location for ultimate underwater adventures.

The Banda Islands are one of the Indonesia’s most popular destinations for divers. Both experts and beginner divers will enjoy themselves here, as the diving spots vary from the shallow lagoon between Bandaneira and Gunung Api, to the vertical walls of Hatta Island. Wherever you go here, you’ll discover stunning tropical scenery, a remarkable history, friendly locals, and some of the globe's most pristine, biologically diverse coral reefs.

Scuba diving is still relatively new here, but pioneering divers didn't have to work hard to find a thrill. The undersea world around Ambon and the nearby island of Saparua have top-rate dive sites. As you explore beneath the surface you’ll see everything from sharks, enormous turtles, schools of Napoleon Wrasse, giant groupers, dogtooth tuna, mobula rays, redtooth triggerfish, various species of whales, spinner dolphins, and huge lobsters - neighbors to generous schools of reef fish and endemic Ambon scorpionfish.

Come to Banda islands and visit the best kept secret in Eastern Indonesia. While flights here are not frequent, it’s worth the wait. For this ideal tropical paradise won’t remain deserted for long.

source : http://www.indonesia.travel/en/destination/403/the-banda-islands

Ambon : The Original Spice Islands

the beach

The tiny islands of Ambon, Banda, Ternate and Tidore - among the thousands of islands in the Moluccas seas,- changed the course of world history from the 15th century onwards. These islands were what triggered the European Age of Exploration.

For in search of the Spice Islands in the Far East, Christopher Columbus sailed west – and discovered America. Vasco da Gama sailed south and discovered the long route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope in 1498 to finally reach India after a long and perilous voyage. Only later did the Portuguese finally discover the sea route to Banda and Ambon. These small islands in the eastern deep seas of the Indonesian archipelago were for centuries the sole producers of the fragrant nutmeg and mace in the world. At the time these spices fetched their weight in gold in Medieval Europe.


The tiny islands of Ternate and Tidore, further north of Ambon were producers of cloves. Indian and Arab traders would sell cloves in Europe for exorbitant prices, but kept the location of their source a tightly held secret. These are the Moluccas – or Maluku – the original Spice Islands, that are now divided into the two provinces of Maluku and North Maluku.

It is from these islands that the Dutch East India Company first gained their stranglehold on the spice trade in the archipelago, gradually colonizing the Indonesian islands over three centuries, until it came to be called the Dutch East Indies, the present-day Republic of Indonesia.

As the glory days spices passed, the significance of the Moluccas waned. But it is here where the history of European explorations and colonization began.

Fortunately the beauty of that era still remains. Today, the town of Ambon is the capital of Maluku, occupying a small flat area by the beautiful Ambon Bay that is backed by lush green mountains and facing deep crystal clear waters that are alive with colorful coral gardens and untold species of marine creatures.

Although small in size, Ambon island still offers plenty of experiences for adventurous travelers. From exploring the charming Kota Ambon – the main town of the island, to walking up mountains through lush tropical vegetation, there are many undiscovered gems ready for visitors to experience.

The town of Ambon – Kota Ambon – is known as ‘Ambon Manise’ meaning sweet or beautiful Ambon. The name refers to both the beauty of the people here and the beauty of the tropical island location.

As one of the earliest places in Indonesia to be occupied by colonial powers, Ambon has a rich and ancient history. Many of the Ambonese today have mixed European and Ambonese heritage.

Visit here and discover centuries-old fortresses and the literature of local kingdoms which traces the story of the people, from periods of prosperity to escalating and controlled trades, harsh colonialism, a grueling struggle, and finally, to independence.

under water

The island also played an important role in World War II when Ambon was used as a headquarters for the Japanese military. Remnants from the war still remain, both in museums and the open air. Some war artifacts remain silently underwater. Today, these remnants are among the most valued historical sites in Ambon.

Ambon is multicultural and home to various ethnicities including the native Alifuru tribes, the migrating Javanese, Sumatrans, Minahasans, the Butons, the Arabs who came in the 9th century, the Europeans, and the Chinese who first came in the 7th century to share in the commerce of this prosperous spice island. Between 1999-2002 the island was the scene of Christian-Muslim violence however since 2004 the island has maintained a period of ongoing peace.