Bunaken Beautiful Beach

Beach always provide beautiful scenery for Us. And also we can do many attractive and challenging activity in the beach, such as swim, play sand, sunbathing and also stroll while enjoying the scenery or the sun with your beloved. Have you thought to try unusual something? May be have desire to walk on the water, enjoy the scenery under the sea with your partner? If the answer is yes and you want to disturb the satisfaction of the first experiment, go to the Bunaken Marine Park and try adventurous dive. Bunaken beach is located in Indonesia archipelago especially in north Sulawesi island. Sulawesi island is located in east Indonesia. The capital of north Sulawesi is Manado. If you from abroad and want to reach Bunaken beach, you should arrive at Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado and then go to Bunaken beach by taxi, rent car or other public transportation.

For your comfort during in Bunaken, order lodging and dive packages away the previous day. For lodging, there are many resort that available in this beach area. The resort is equipped with support facilities that support your comfort such as clean water, electricity, bathroom and western style toilet, a comfortable mattress with mosquito net and fan, wireless Internet connection, also bars and restaurants open. Bastiano’s, Bunaken Village, Cha Cha, Daniel’s Homestay, Panorama, Scubana Dive Cottage, Seabreeze Resort, Two Fish, and is the name of a diving resort in the 2 point dive in Bunaken Island, Liang beach and beach Pangalisang.

Election time and dive packages also determine your final satisfaction. For you who want privacy, choose the package that is only 1 group of 3 people, 1 guide and 2 participants. There are many service providers to rent equipment and dive guide that available, including Barracuda, Celebes Divers, Eco Divers, dolphin Diving, Murex, Nusantara Diving Center and Odyssea Divers. It is a good idea to compare or consult you about the dive packages offered by service providers in the sixth.

High purity water in fact can not be predicted and it is very dependent on weather conditions. The best time to dive is in the morning up to afternoon during the dry season months between May to October. Besides the possibility of a rain storm and is very small, in this season the abundant of sun rays add the romantic of Bunaken marine theater below.

When diving, you will enjoy the tranquility under the sea of heaven in Bunaken Island. Albeit without a vote, multiformity of the bright colors of coral and fish feel fun about life there. You can stroke the fish that swim around your pampered, and feel really exciting.

Never miss attraction of clown fish who run and hiding behind each other anemon vessel. Do not miss the details of interesting details in the circus under the sea such as sea Horses moving the flow, the stars and sea snail with a variety of spectacular colors, and fish shaped like a helicopter. If you are lucky, you will also feel the sensation of coming stir a giant hammer ray fish or sharks are large.

To save the romantic memories for you dive, you can bring a special camera down in the water or rent a service provider tools dives. However, if your holiday budget is limited, both in the memories dive Bunaken Island beach surely not easily forgotten. Heaven holiday in Bunaken will be romantic moment that ever be missed.

Bunaken Ekosistem

Bunaken National Marine Park is promoted as an ideal mix of  tourism and conservation, but not all local people agree.

Pak Victor is a fisher living in the main village of Bunaken Island in Bunaken National Marine Park. Like most villagers, he mainly fishes for pelagic (open ocean) species, but during the monsoon he fishes for reef species nearer the shore. He says, ‘We have to go further to catch pelagics than in the past because of overfishing by foreign boats with more modern technology… It’s also harder to get reef fish because there are so many tourists diving in the water.’ Victor wants protection from offshore foreign fishing fleets and some nearshore fishers’ destructive practices such as blast and cyanide fishing. But can eco-tourism protect the livelihoods of local people like Victor as well as conserving the local environment?

Bunaken National Marine Park, located in North Sulawesi, is one of Indonesia’s most successful examples of combining coral reef conservation with economic growth, by developing eco-tourism. Established in 1991 by the Indonesian government, the park nests in the heart of the Coral Triangle, home to some of the richest marine biodiversity in the world. In the interests of both the 30,000 people that live within park boundaries and the dive tourism industry, park managers aim to sustain a healthy reef system.

After its establishment, USAID, the US government aid agency, began to support ecotourism in the park. From USAID’s perspective, eco-tourism in Bunaken offers a model of decentralising coastal resource management by involving the local community and forging partnerships with the private sector.

Eco-tourism, part of a sustainable development paradigm, has social and ecological goals. It aims to elicit beneficiaries’ participation in a way that can help reduce poverty and at the same time support biodiversity.
One key assumption in this paradigm is that poverty is a cause of environmental destruction and that economic growth can help both people and the environment.

Eco-tourists who visit Bunaken are fond of the idea that they are helping to protect the local environment and eradicate poverty. But are they really doing so? In Bunaken the stated aims of eliciting community participation and eradicating poverty been overlooked in the rush to secure economic growth by seeking foreign private capital investment. As a result, many local fishers are relegated to the rank of lowly labourers for foreign owned dive operators and the park management board.

Participation?

Bunaken National Marine Park has received international awards for local participation, sustainable funding mechanisms and biodiversity conservation. Its multi-stakeholder management board was created to combine private tourism interests, NGOs, government representatives and local park residents in both managing the park entrance fee and sharing in decision-making processes. To minimise user group conflict, fishing zones are distinct from tourism zones and fishers and dive operators negotiated to determine which zones would be located where.
Within the park’s predefined eco-tourism agenda, what does participation mean? Village representatives sit on the management board. Yet many Bunaken villagers feel that park rules do not represent their interests. One fisher says, ‘No one who disagrees with park rules sits on the park management board.’ Similarly, an NGO representative says, ‘I don’t go to meetings anymore because I already know the outcome.’

Growth at any cost

The success of tourism in the park has had unintended effects for local fishers. In the past 20 years, the waters around the main island where tourism and management occur have largely been transformed from a working to a recreational seascape. While sustainable fishing practices are encouraged in the park’s community use zones, the relationship between fishing and the park is ambiguous at best.

From a cursory perusal of the zonation map of Bunaken Island it appears that the zone set aside for the community is larger than the tourism zone, but this is not the case. Community zones actually have fewer target fish species (the species that fishers desire) than tourism zones. The space in which fishing can occur becomes even smaller when we are told that community zones include tourism use, while recreational zones exclude local fishers. Allowing everyone access to this space disadvantages fishers as they must compete with tourists for access to marine resources.

Before the 1960s, Bunaken’s waters were mainly made up of small-scale fishers. In 1980 the governor of North Sulawesi declared Bunaken Island a Tourism Object of Manado. Indonesians began opening small homestays. In the 1980s, more established dive operators from Europe and the United States, with bigger capital backing, began to open resorts. In the past ten years, resorts on both Bunaken Island and the mainland have become larger and more focused on pre-paid package deals.

On Bunaken Island, this corresponded with a shift in resort ownership from Indonesian-owned resorts to foreign-owned resorts. Despite park stakeholders’ best intentions, the occupations of local people on Bunaken Island have largely shifted away from nearshore fishing and independent tourism activities such as tour guiding, boat chartering and homestay ownership. Many of these people are now employed as wage laborers by either foreign-owned dive resorts or by the park. In these dive operations, better paying jobs tend to be held by mainlanders from Manado and Minahasa, who are often better educated.

One Bunaken Island homestay owner whose business is suffering said, ‘The park only uses Bunaken people to collect the bins and pick up garbage. We’re only staff – we don’t have a say! We aren’t leaders! Bunaken people don’t work for the [park management board]. The salaries for all these people come from Bunaken but Bunaken people don’t get anything!’

Recently, even many of the foreigners who own smaller resorts have started to feel threatened by more powerful interests. As foreign live-aboard dive boats and larger resorts enter the area, smaller operators and park officials worry about the negative impacts of expanding tourism, and have commissioned dive carrying capacity studies in the area. Similar to the protection desired by fishers, smaller dive operators now desire protection from larger foreign competitors.

Many foreign donors have responded to the call for eco-tourism as a route to both conservation and poverty reduction. As a result, coral reef tourism will only grow in the coming years in Indonesia. We must ask ourselves if this strategy of economic growth is the answer to poverty and to the destruction of coral reefs. Is a successful marine park defined by its ability to open up a coastal space to international capital? In the case of Bunaken National Marine Park, it has resulted in the disenfranchisement of many local fishers with questionable effects for long-term ecological sustainability.

General Information Bunaken National Marine Park

The Bunaken National Marine 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 Marine 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 t oa 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.

Oceanic currents may explain, in part, why Bunaken National Marine Park is such a treasure trove of biodiversity. Northeasternly currents generally sweep through the park but abundant counter currents and gyros related to lunar cycles are believed to be a trap for free swimming larvae. This is particularly true on the south side of the crescent-shaped Bunaken Island, lying in the heart of the park. A snorkler or diver in the vicinity of Lekuan or Fukui may spot over 33 species of butterfly fish and numerous types of groupers, damsels, wrasses and gobies. The gobies, smallish fish with bulging eyes and modified fins that allow them to attach to hard surfaces, are the most diverse but least known group of fish in the park.
Biologists believe that the abundance of hard corals is crucial in maintaining the high levels of diversity in the park. Hard corals are the architects of the reefs, without them, numerous marine organisms would be homeless and hungry. Many species of fish are closely associated with particular types of corals (folious, branching, massives, etc.) for shelter and egg-laying. Others, like the enormous Bumphead Parrotfish, Balbometopon muricatum, are "coralivores" and depend on hard corals for their sustenance. Bony mouth parts fused into an impressive "beak" allow these gregarious fish to crunch corals like roasted peanuts.
Some 20,000 people live on the natural resources of Bunaken National Marine Park. Although there are inevitable conflicts between resource protection and use by people, the Indonesian government is taking a fairly unusual and pragmatic approach to park management. The idea is to promote wise resource use while preventing overexploitation. Local communities, government officials, dive resort operators, local nature groups, tourists and scientists have played an active role in developing exclusive zones for diving, wood collection, fishing and other forms of utilization. If successful, Bunaken Marine Park will stand as an important example of how Sulawesi, and the rest of Indonesia, can work to protect its natural resources.

Bunaken National Marine Park

The natural beauty and marine diversity of Bunaken Sea Park in North Sulawesi Utara have long been admired by marine lovers from all over the world, including divers, surfers, tourists through to marine biodiversity researchers!
Make your marine move and join in the international event at the so-called Land of Palm Trees. Your company participation is a significant contribution to the living up of marine love and spirit to show "Jalesveva Jayamahae" (On the Sea We’re Victorious).
Golden opportunities are wide open for you and your esteemed company to take an active part, as well as exploring effective business support and networking.

Do In Bunaken

The thing to do in Bunaken is dive, dive and dive! However, the steep walls and occasionally strong, rapidly changing currents mean that many sites cater more to the intermediate/advanced diver, although there are beginner-friendly sites too and all dive shops can arrange intro dives and Open Water Diver courses. The North Sulawesi Watersports Association offers oodles of detail on diving in the park. The park also offers outstanding snorkeling!

All dive shops in the park are affiliated with resorts, so see Sleep below for listings.

The snorkeling is fantastic just in front of many of the resorts that surround the island, with an incredible amount of marine life living in the shallows and also on the outer walls. Remember not to snorkel without fins as the currents can sometimes be strong, and change quickly even when they are not. Pick a reference point on the island and do not stray too far unless you are a confident swimmer.

Tourism on Bunaken has been very much geared towards divers over the years, but the trend seems to be changing and more and more snorkelers are visiting the area as too are those who wish to just relax immersed in nature...away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Possible activities for landlubbers include:

• Beach-combing, especially at low tide when the reef top is accessible
• Hiking to some of the secluded coves on the Eastern and Northern part of the island, but trails are poorly marked
• Fishing, but only outside of the park boundaries: hire a boat or join one of the local fishing boats.
• Dolphin & Whale watching, either while on diving or snorkeling boat trips or by hiring a boat.

Drink in Bunaken

Natural drinking water is Not available on Bunaken. Insist on bottled mineral water at all times, ensure that coffees or teas are made using bottled water also. Local spirits Cap Tikus literally "rat brand" made from distilled palm wine (a type of moonshine), actually quite nice "on the rocks with a slice of lemon".

About Bunaken National Marine Park

• Established in 1991, overseen by BTNB (Bunaken Authority from the Department of Forestry)
• ~90,000 hectares, including 5 islands and North Sulawesi mainland (South and North sections)
• exceptionally diverse.
• Occupied by 22 villages inside park, with ~35,000 residents

Tourism in Bunaken NP

• Well-developed marine tourism industry - highly environmentally concerned
  • ~30 dive operators – land-based and operating daytrips to park
  • Accommodations ranging from 5* resorts to rustic backpacker cottages
• ~ 50,000 guests/year
• Direct international airline access

Despite national park status and significant funding inputs, the park has suffered a slow, continuous degradation due to a number of threats….

• Coral Mining
• Diver/ anchor damage
• Blast fishing
• Cyanide fishing
• And TRASH

BNP Management less than optimal over past decade due to a number of problems

• Overlapping authorities (BTNB, local govt agencies)
• Local communities and private sector not constructively involved
• Conservation funding levels continue to decline
• Two conflicting and unclear zonation systems

Strategy for entering a new era of co-management of BNP

• Inclusion of local communities and private sector in mgmt, particularly enforcement
• Creation of a multi-stakeholder advisory board
• Implementation of a ground-breaking entrance fee system for sustainable conservation financing
• Support for BTNB to rise to the occasion and lead other agencies in effective management of the park
• Participatory zonation revision process

Towards true co-management of BNP…

Bunaken National Park Management Advisory Board (DPTNB)

Multistakeholder board established by Governor’s Decree #233/2000, sworn in by Minister of Forestry
19 seats on board: 9 non-governmental, 10 governmental
Vice Governor North Sulawesi
6 village representatives from Concerned Citizen’s Forum
BTNB (Park Authority) and Water Police
Tourism Dept
Marine & Fisheries Affairs Dept
Local University (UNSRAT)
Private Sector (NSWA & HPWLB)
Environmental agencies (city, district, province)
Executive Secretariat (professionals) for operational activities

The primary objectives:
Explore the financial needs for sustained BNP MPA management and recommend a draft finance strategy for the short and long terms. (Including developing a cost model, which identifies the actual funding necessary to manage BNP).
Raise awareness by park stakeholders of the different type of conservation financing mechanisms available for BNP.
Coordinate policies of the various government agencies with authority within the park.
Support the BTNB in formulating and funding conservation programs in the park.
Share BNP experience with other MPAs in region, including Raja Ampat, Wakatobi, and Komodo.keholders in the conservation of BNP.

First year priorities:

Design and implement an effective entrance fee system
Expand the joint BTNB/NSWA/police patrol system (involving villagers)
Institutional development of DPTNB and secretariat
Implement trash collection program on Bunaken Island
Institutional development of FMPTNB citizen’s forum

Five year priorities:

Develop a new management plan
Alternative livelihood programs in 22 villages
Conservation education in 22 villages
Environmentally-friendly village development programs
Village docks, sanitation systems, running water
Alternative ecotourism development

Conservation Financing Resources:

Entrance Fee System (PERDA SULUT No. 14/2000 & No. 9/2002)
Grant money from international donors (WWF, NRM, Seacology)
Operational/routine funding from agencies involved in DPTNB

Bunaken NP Entrance Fee System
Dual system
Foreign guests (numbered plastic tags): Rp 150,000/year (~$15)
Local guests (ticket) Rp 2500/trip (~$.25)
Distribution of entrance fee revenues
80% BNPMAB–specifically for Bunaken conservation programs
20% local government – North Sulawesi, Minahasa district, Manado city, Jakarta

2003-2005 Developments

Despite dramatic drop in international tourism (SARS, Bali bomb, Iraq), international arrivals to Bunaken stable
Tremendous increase in domestic arrivals due to 75% decrease in domestic airfares to Manado, government policies of multiple 3 day weekends
Awards:
British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award- Global Winner
UNDP Equatorial Initiative Award 2004
SKAL International Ecotourism Award 2004
Carrying Capacity Study indicates some sites are already approaching or exceeding carrying capacity

Notable benefits of co-management initiative to date
Coordination between local government agencies much better (fisheries, environmental agency, etc)
DPTNB’s decentralized user fee system provides financial resources for conservation/development
All stakeholders much more satisfied with coordinative approach and more supportive of park’s goals
Participatory zonation and enforcement has proven extremely successful
Better relations with mass media

Institutional Strengthening of Co-Management Partners
BNPMAB. Develop into a world-class mgmt body like GBRMPA - particular emphasis on executive secretariat
Concerned Citizen’s Forum. Encourage democratic process at village level and attain true village representation
BTNB. Vitalization underway! Ranger trainings, institutional transformation

Attainment of Financial Self-reliance

Targeting 100% financial sustainability (projected annual budget of $500,000 - $700,000)
$200,000 per year via entrance fee system (increase fee for both international and domestic visitors gradually)
Diversify other revenue streams to reduce dependency on potentially unstable tourism industry
national/international grants
merchandising at new visitor center
international volunteers system
in-kind labor support from dive operators
endowment program via GEF/UNEP

Towards Sustainable Financing (After the big Donor’s Gone in 2004)
Calculated the estimation cost for an effective and efficient National Park
Worked with CCIF (Conservation and Community Investment Forum )
Still in draft format (there’s no long term management mechanism and no management plant yet).
Proposal to GEF for sustainable financing

MSP Proposal to GEF to get US$1M
75% for investment
25% for operational cost
Local efforts
Good governance system
Lobby local government to allocate budget
Through Payment for Environmental Services mechanism

Challenges
The current organizational structure for BNP management is in-effective, unclear and appears to be losing support from stakeholders.
A management plan does not exist in a comprehensive and clear structure or format.
Costs for effective management cannot be calculated due to point 1 and 2

Garbage. Because of its location that’s very close to Manado city (400,000 population)
There is still “tug-of-war” with the city government about the entrance fee.

Way forwards

To maintain its credibility, in the near future BNPMAB will have to translate its given mandate into concrete actions that clearly demonstrate:
Effective coordinating function – Ability to leverage resources of its members in implementing programs and monitor results to achieve objectives identified in the strategic plans.
Effective stakeholder communication – Ability to educate and communicate with all stakeholders (e.g., community members, the district, provincial, and national governments, international institutions, etc.) on issues related to BNP to generate support.
Efficient financial management – Capacity to manage income from entrance fee and seek additional donor funding to support activities.
The BNPMB must refocus on the original tasks and roles stated so clearly at the beginning of its establishment: coordination, consultation and support for fund raising

Last words
It’s important to have a solid Executive Secretariat before the co-management body exist
Socialization process just never ends
It’s important to have solid support from local government (funding included)
Co-management system is not easy but important for conservation management

Fees/Permits

As of September 2008, entry to the park costs either Rp 50,000/day or Rp 150,000/Calendar year. Even though the fee does not seem to be automatically levied upon entrance to the island, it is the responsibility of all visitors to the Park to have one, and most reputable dive shops will supply them. As proof of payment, you will receive a plastic tag that must be carried at all times — it's waterproof and can be attached to your diving gear. Pitty there's nothing visible of what they do with that money (trash everywhere!).

Get in Bunaken

Bunaken is about 45-60 minutes by boat from Manado. Most resorts will arrange transfers from the airport for their guests. Alternatively, a public boat leaves daily except Sunday at 2-3PM from the canal on the north side of the market. The cost is 25,000Rp for tourists, 10,000Rp for locals (welcome to Indonesia). It returns to Manado from the jetty in Bunaken village around 8-8:30AM every morning except Sunday. You can also charter a boat both ways at anytime.

Bunaken Climate

Bunaken is barely a degree above the equator and thus tropical. The "Rainy Season" from November to mid April, brings frequent rains, sometimes in storms lasting for several days, which make the air nice and cool but also reduce visibility. The "Dry Season" from May to October, when temperatures climb to 35° and visibility reaches a maximum. Bunaken receives far less rain than the mainland and is well ventilated with sea breezes.

Bunaken Flora and Fauna

Except for the very largest pelagics, nearly everything can be found at Bunaken. Reef inhabitants include white and black tip reef sharks, giant sea turtles, napoleon fish, and dugongs.

You may frequently run into dolphins, and occasionally schools of whales.

Bunaken Landscape

The park is famed for the clarity of its water (35m visibility is common in the summer dry season), the abundance of coral and fish, and for the precipitous "walls" at some sites. Bunaken Timur, right off the east coast of the island and featuring all of the above, is according to some the best dive site in all Indonesia.

Understand Bunaken

Bunaken is one of Indonesia's most famous dive/snorkeling areas, and it draws scuba divers & snorkelers from all over the world. In addition to Bunaken itself, a rather featureless banana-shaped island, the National Park includes the neighboring islands of Manado Tua, a distinctive cone-shaped extinct volcano, Siladen, Montehagen, Nain, and Nain Kecil.

Basic Facts of Bunaken National Park

Where is Bunaken National Park situated?
Bunaken National Park is located in the Province of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Geographically,
the Park consists of a northern and southern section (see Map 1). The northern section includes
five islands, and the coastal area between Molas to Tiwoho called the “Molas-Wori Coast”. The
southern section consists entirely of coastal area between Poopoh and Popareng villages, called
the “Arakan-Wawontulap Coast”.
The Park is located close to Manado, the capital city of North Sulawesi. Travelling time between
Manado and Bunaken Island is about 35 minutes by boat.
How big is Bunaken National Park?
The total area of the Park is 79,056 hectares of land and marine area. The northern section
consists of 62,150 Ha and the southern section consists of 16,906 Ha. The area of each island
inside the Park is shown in Table 1 below.
What are the general seasons in Bunaken National Park?
There are 2 major seasons in the area of Bunaken National Park: Wet season and Dry season.
In the Wet season, cool northwesterly winds occur from November until April and bring heavy
rains and occasionally very rough seas. In the dry season, southwestly winds occur between
May until October and bring drier winds and relatively calm seas.
Average air temperature in the Park is 270C with a monthly fluctuation range of 10C to 20C.
Minimum average monthly air temperature is 190C, whereas maximum monthly air temperature
is 340C.
Sea surface temperature around the Park ranges between 270C and 290C throughout the year.
However, sea temperatures over reef flats can be higher than 300C at low tide.
What is the rainfall rate in Bunaken National Park?
Average rainfall in the northern section of the Park is 3,001 - 3,500 mm per year, and in the
southern section average rainful is 2,501 -3,000 mm per year.

source:

http://www.bunaken.org/index.php?berita=2&lang=

Driving Bunaken National Marine Park Sulawesi

The coral reefs off Bunaken Island are a divers paradise and should not be missed while you are in Manado, Sulawesi. Relatively unspoiled and magnificent virgin reefs await divers and the drop-off walls at Liang cove has caves, gullies and caverns, harbouring an immense wealth of marine life. Spectacular reef formations begin at about 5 m depth and then plunges downward to form underwater vertical crevices with often reach depth on several hundred meters. On these beautiful reefs, a wonderful collection of marine life thrives. The Bunaken reef is world famous and is a chain of over forty five star dive spots. The Marine Park is spectacular with the greatest concentration of tropical fish and coral species. Clear, warm waters, light currents and calm seas allow easy access to the five islands of the Bunaken-Manado Tua National Marine Park which sits directly offshore of Manado.

Most of the diving can be found near Bunaken and Manado Tua because of their many excellent sites. Here area few of the best dives that will leave you in awe and yearning for more:

Muka Gereja

Muka Gereja is a pretty site with thousands of fishes in the shallows and deeper canyons that lead to the wall.

Barracuda Point

Barracuda Point, on northwest Montehage, is one of the furthest sites. A school of giant barracuda are regulars along with jacks and tuna.

Manado Wreck

This 60m (200ft) long German merchant ship sank near Molas Beach in 1942. It sits upright with the bow at 23m (78ft). The ship is split near amidships back to the stern, exposing the wheelhouse and cargo holds. Dives finish up on a nearby shallow reef. Expect 10-15m (30-50ft) visibility.

Lekuan Walls

This long wall on Bunaken is divided into three sites: Lekuan I, II and III. Together they represent the park’s best. Steep walls are marked with deep crevices, sea fans and giant sponges. The shallows are filled with fishes. The wall, often protected from stronger currents, is frequented by bumphead parrotfish, turtles, and Napoleon wrasses.

Mandolin

Mandolin has a knockout reef crest and a wall that attracts thousands of fishes like schooling fusiliers, surgeonfish, unicornfish, and bannerfish. They are acclimated to divers and are easily approachable.

Bunaken Timor

There are strong currents and lots of fishes on this long wall. The shallow reef isn’t as spectacular as some but there are turtles, sharks, eagle rays, and other big fishes in the blue. Overhangs and small caves mark the wall.

Tanjung Kopi

Tanjung Kopi is a nice wall with a small school of barracuda and lots of sweetlips. Visibility in the shallows is not terrific but the numbers of fishes make up for it. Nudibranches and fire gobies are easy to spot here.

Siladen Island

Siladen has a beautiful wall of soft corals that bloom when the current is running. The shallows are nice with lots of fishes and schooling snappers.

Bunaken Diving Park

The Bunaken National Marine Park was formally established in 1991 and is one of the first Indonesian growing system of marine parks. The remaining 3% of the park is land, including the five islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen.

The waters of Bunaken National Marine Park is very deep (1566 m in Manado Bay), clear (up to 35-40 m visibility), refreshing in temperature (27-29 C) and the port some of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Choose any interest group - the corals, fish, echinoderms or sponges - and the number of families, genera and species is bound to be surprisingly high.

Bunaken is the standout favorite, with the highest density of schooling fish and more likely to see the larger species, such as turtles, sharks, and Napoleon Wrasse. There are enough sites here to keep any diver happy for more than a week without going elsewhere. Bunaken The reef is a chain of more than 40 stars, five-point dive. The Marine Park is spectacular with the greatest concentration of tropical fish, coral species and world-famous diving wall. Clear, warm waters , light and the currents of the seas calm, allowing easy access to the submarine in hopes of attracting visitors to the five islands of Bunaken -Manado Tua National Marine Park that sits directly on the coast of Manado.

Most diving is done near Bunaken and Manado Tua, because of its many excellent sites. The following is the representative of diving in the area.
1. Lekuan Walls, This long wall in Bunaken is divided into three sites: Leku I, II and III. Together, they represent the best of the park. Steep walls are marked with deep cracks, sea fans and giant sponges. The shallows are full of fish. The wall, often protected by strong currents, is frequented by bumphead parrotfish, turtles, and Napoleon Wrasse.

2. Mandolin. Mandolin has a knockout reef crest and a wall that attracts thousands of schooling fish such as the Fusiliers, surgeonfish, unicornfish, and bannerfish. They are acclimated to the divers and are easily approachable.

3. Tanjung Kopi. Tanjung Kopi is a great wall with a small school of barracuda and a host of sweetlips. Nudibranches and fire governments are easy to spot here.

4. Siladen Island. Siladen has a beautiful wall of soft corals that flourish when the current is running. The shallows are nice with lots of schooling fish and snappers.

Bunaken island is easily accessible from Manado by motorized outrigger boat start from Manado port, Molas, Kalasey and Tasik Ria beaches. The public boats from Manado to Bunaken are leaving daily for about 2 hours (depending on the tide). Back to Bunaken in Manado usually early in the morning, around 7-8 am. You can explore the land on foot. And you can use a boat to go from one to another dive sites.

Other things to see and do in Bunaken, such: Diving, swimming, and snorkeling. Walking around the beach and sampling the tempting seafood cuisine.

Travel tips :
1. Entrance labels and tickets can be purchased through marine tourism operators based in Manado and in the Bunaken National Park, or can be purchased from one of three ticket counters in Bunaken and Liang villages on Bunaken Island and on Siladen Island;

2. You should be aware that during the absolute peak season months of July and August usually gets very busy. Many of the best resorts and dive operators can not accept walk-ins during that time, as they are fully reserved. Better make a reservation before;

3. Try to hire equipment from larger firms as these tend to be more reliable, but remember the responsibility of checking the equipment is ultimately yours.

Bunaken Manado

Bunaken is part of the Bunaken National Marine Park, which has some of the highest levels of marine biodiversity in the world.^{[citation needed]} Scuba diving attracts many visitors to the island. Bunaken is located at the north of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It belongs administratively to the municipality of Manado.

The Bunaken National Marine 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 890.65 km², 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 Marine Park are extremely deep (1566 m in Manado Bay), clear (up to 35-40 m visibility), refreshing in temperature (27 to 29 °C) 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.

Other sides of Bunaken.

Oceanic currents may explain, in part, why Bunaken National Marine Park is such a treasure trove of biodiversity. Northeasternly currents generally sweep through the park but abundant counter currents and gyros related to lunar cycles are believed to be a trap for free swimming larvae. This is particularly true on the south side of the crescent-shaped Bunaken Island, lying in the heart of the park. A snorkler or diver in the vicinity of Lekuan or Fukui may spot over 33 species of butterfly fish and numerous types of groupers, damsels, wrasses and gobies. The gobies, smallish fish with bulging eyes and modified fins that allow them to attach to hard surfaces, are the most diverse but least known group of fish in the park.

Biologists believe that the abundance of hard corals is crucial in maintaining the high levels of diversity in the park. Hard corals are the architects of the reefs, without them, numerous marine organisms would be homeless and hungry. Many species of fish are closely associated with particular types of corals (folious, branching, massives, etc.) for shelter and egg-laying. Others, like the enormous Bumphead Parrotfish, Balbometopon muricatum, are "coralivores" and depend on hard corals for their sustenance. Bony mouth parts fused into an impressive "beak" allow these gregarious fish to crunch corals like roasted peanuts.

Some 20,000 people live on the natural resources of Bunaken National Marine Park. Although there are inevitable conflicts between resource protection and use by people, the Indonesian government is taking a fairly unusual and pragmatic approach to park management. The idea is to promote wise resource use while preventing overexploitation. Local communities, government officials, dive resort operators, local nature groups, tourists and scientists have played an active role in developing exclusive zones for diving, wood collection, fishing and other forms of utilization. Bunaken Marine Park has become an important example of how Sulawesi, and the rest of Indonesia, can work to protect its natural resources.