There Is a Paradise Under The Bunaken Marine Park

Bunaken National Park is a marine park located in North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The park is located in the Coral Triangle which is home to 390 species of coral reefs as well as various species of fish, molluscs, reptiles, and marine mammals. Bunaken National Park is a representative of Indonesia's marine ecosystem, including sea grass, coral reefs, and coastal ecosystems

This national park was founded in 1991 and covers an area of ​​890.65 km². 97% of this national park is marine habitat, while the remaining 3% is land, covering five islands: Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Naen, and Siladen.

This National Park has a very large coral reef ecosystem. There are about 390 species of coral reefs in this area. The algae species that can be found in Bunaken National Park are Caulerpa, Halimeda, and Padina, while the most common seaweed species are Thalassia hemprichii, Enhallus acoroides, and Thalassaodendron ciliatum. Bunaken National Park also has various species of fish, marine mammals, reptiles, birds, mollusks and mangroves. About 90 species of fish exist in the waters of this region.

On land, the island is rich in Arecaceae, sago, woka, silar and coconut. In addition, Bunaken National Park also has animal species that live on land, such as deer and cuscus. The mangrove forest in this park is a habitat for crabs, lobsters, mollusks, and seabirds.

Bunaken National Park was officially established in 1991 and is one of Indonesia's first marine parks. In 2005, Indonesia registered this national park with UNESCO for inclusion in a World Heritage Site. Despite having national park status and receiving adequate funding, the park has experienced little degradation due to coral reef mining, anchor damage, use of bombs and cyanide in fishing, diving, and littering. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) provides conservation assistance as part of the "Sulu Sulawesi Marine Eco-region Action Plan". Conservation includes patrols that have succeeded in reducing the use of bombs in fishing.

Travel Route To Bunaken National Park

Bunaken National Park is located in Manado Bay, North Sumatra. There are many modes of transportation that you can choose to get to the city of Manado.

If you use a plane, you will arrive at Sam Ratulangi International Airport in the city of Manado.

Arriving in the city of Manado, you can go to the Marina Blue Banter port or Marina Nusantara Diving Center (NDC) in the Molas sub-district.

From Marina Blue Banter, it takes about 30 minutes to get to Bunaken Island, then another 10-15 minutes to the dive site. Meanwhile, if you depart from NDC, it will only take you 20 minutes.

In addition, there is another alternative to Bunaken Island, namely renting a boat from Marina and Pasar Bersehati, a 40-minute trip.

You can also choose a catamaran which has a large transparent glass in the middle so you can start enjoying the underwater scenery during your trip to Bunaken Island.