Diving in Indonesia

Indonesia consists of a 5 thousand kilometer long archipelago offering some of the most diverse coral reefs on the planet. There are over 15 thousand islands with a coastline stretching over 50 thousand kilometers all lying in tropical waters, a perfect environment for coral growth. The amount of coral reef the archipelago contains is far more than neighbor Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Diving in Indonesia offers over 3,000 fish species and 450 species of coral, steep walls, deep water trenches, underwater volcanic mountains, World War II wrecks, and an endless variety of macro life.

Indonesia sits on the western edge of the Pacific Rim, a seismically active area known as the "Ring of Fire." This volcanic volatility makes Indonesia a hotbed of biodiversity. Biodiversity is an indicator of environmental health: The higher the number of species living together, the healthier the community because it is better able to withstand and rebound from the forces of nature such as El Niño, earthquakes, floods, and artificial interventions. With rich environment of warm equatorial currents, nutrient-rich upwellings and a tropical climate it is not surprising that Indonesia is home to over a quarter of the fish species found on earth.

Recently the political situation in Indonesia as deterred scuba divers from coming here however this can only add to the attraction of no overcrowding at dive sites. There are also a number of pristine frontier destinations such as Sulawesi, Alor and Raja Ampat that have yet to be overrun by tourism.