Welcome to Raja Ampat & Sorong

Ampat is the newest world's most diverse underwater ecosystems and it has most colourful bird kingdoms on Earth. Raja Ampat, meaning four kings, is a specific area within Indonesia, including West Papua. The name refers to the four biggest islands within the Indonesian archipelago(Batanta, Waigeo, Misool and Salawati) and originates from the time of maharajas. The area covers 42,000 km2 including 2500 limestone islands covered shore to shore by untouched, ancient rainforests. The forest canopies are home to myriads of parrots disturbing the piece of this ancient land. Black and white cockatoos enjoy this paradise as well singing even louder. The tree crowns provide home to the beautiful bird of paradise with the most amazing plumage on display. The thick undergrowth provides the perfect hiding place for many other animals such as the cassowary. Coral reefs near the shore provide home for more than 500 species of corals and 1300 species of fish. An Australian scientist, during a 60 minute dive, managed to identify 283 different species, which is more than the total number of species known to be living around the Caribbean islands and equals all the variety of species found in the Red Sea. The cold, nutrient rich underwater currents near the shore attract masses of underwater life including manta rays. The size of these amazing creatures can reach up to 6 meters. We can differentiate between two kinds; the well know white colour manta ray, and the all black, which is unique to this area. Different type of larger fish are attracted to this area, as the myriad of small fish feeding on the plankton-rich waters provide the perfect hunting ground for all. Cachalot and grampus are just two to mention. Furthermore sea cows and turtles are grazing the underwater sea grass near the shores and pipe fish and ghost-pipe fish feed in the coral
How to get there???? Take flight from Singapore/Manado/Sorong or Jakarta/Makasar/Sorong or Denpasar/Makasar/Manado/Sorong. Sorong is the city and before go to Raja Ampat must be stop in Sorong. Then continue with boat/ferry to Raja Ampat where it takes 1 to 2 hours. Ticket price is 100.000 until 125.000 rupiah.

How about Accomodation???

Don't worry! there are some resorts, home stay or cottages which are available.

Raja Ampat Tourism Entrance Fee FAQ SheetWhy do I have to pay a fee to enter Raja Ampat? Raja Ampat is blessed with some of the highest marine biodiversity and healthiest coral reefs in the world. In order to protect this unique biodiversity, Raja Ampat has 7 nationally mandated and locally managedmarine protected areas (MPAs). As with any park or reserve, conservation and tourism management costsmoney, and the Raja Ampat government is adopting a tool commonly used throughout the world for financingprotected areas management – entrance fees. Moreover, the villagers in Raja Ampat have traditional marinetenure rights over all of the reefs and are entitled to seek compensation from users of their reefs. In aneffort to harmonize these various needs and avoid a very complex set of fees for tourism use of individualreefs, the Raja Ampat government and local communities have agreed to a centrally-collected singleentrance fee of Rp 500,000/person/year. Why is the fee so high? Raja Ampat is huge, covering nearly 50,000 sq km, with a population of 32,000 spread over 92 villages andsub-villages. Managing such a large and diverse area is costly. Providing direct benefits to each of the 92remote villages is especially costly, particularly given the relatively low number of tourists visiting RajaAmpat. In trying to convince the government and villages to prioritize eco-friendly tourism developmentover lucrative but environmentally-damaging sectors such as mining and forestry, it is important that theysee real benefits from tourism. Note that the fee system actually only contributes a small part of theoverall conservation and management costs of Raja Ampat’s MPA system. Why do I have to pay for a 1 year tag even if I’m only visiting for a few days? There is a growing consensus among MPA managers that the annual waterproof tag system is the mostefficient, robust and convenient method of collecting entry fees, avoiding the significant hassle andenforcement issues that arise with daily fees – especially in large-scale MPAs where guests do not passthrough a central entrance gate on a daily basis. Why was I given 2 receipts when I purchased my tag? The fee has two main components: a governmental tourism management fee of Rp 150,000 and aconservation and community development fee of Rp 350,000. In order to ensure transparency and make itvery clear where the money goes, each guest will receive two receipts, one for each fund. Who manages the revenues from the fee system? The Raja Ampat tourism entrance fee is managed by a multi-stakeholder team that is comprised of localcommunity leaders, Raja Ampat govt. officials (from the departments of Marine Affairs and Fisheries,Tourism, and Health) local and international conservation NGOs (CI, TNC, and the Papuan TurtleConservation Foundation), and a rep. of the private marine tourism sector. Where does my money go? The Rp 150,000 tourism management fee enters the coffers of the Raja Ampat tourism department and istargeted at improving tourism management in Raja Ampat. The Rp 350,000 conservation and communitydevelopment fee is split by law into 3 components: 40% for a community development fund for activitiesthat benefit all 92 villages/sub-villages in Raja Ampat; 40% for a conservation and enforcement fund, and20% for management of the fee system (including paying for the office and staff required to collect, Updated in October 2008 2manage, and distribute the entrance fee proceeds). The priority activities under the communitydevelopment and conservation funds are determined on an annual basis by the entrance fee managementteam. What are the first year priorities with the entrance fee funds?In 2007, the conservation fund will be used to strengthen a patrol program to eliminate destructive fishingpractices such as blast and cyanide fishing. In order to reach out to all communities in Raja Ampat andprovide them some direct benefit from tourism, the community development fund will be used to reestablishthe “Posyandu” system which brings basic health care to mothers and young children in everyvillage.
NOTE: as it will take time to accrue funds in the entrance fee accounts, the 2007 activitiesdescribed above are actually being funded by grants from conservation NGOs; the revenues from the 2007entrance fee will be used to fund 2008 activities in Raja Ampat, 2008 revenues will fund 2009 activities,and so on.Why do I still see people fishing in Raja Ampat’s Marine Protected Areas? Raja Ampat’s MPAs were only declared in mid-2007 and the zonation and management plans for each MPAare still under development. Local communities are still allowed to fish in their traditional areas and maycontinue to do so with certain agreed gear restrictions. That said, fishing activities including blast andcyanide fishing, trawling, and shark-finning are illegal throughout Raja Ampat. While a joint patrol teamcomprised of police, fisheries officers and community members has now been launched to confront theseenvironmental crimes directly, the reality is that patrolling this huge area will always be a challenge and asystem is being developed so that tourism operators can report violations. How can I help Raja Ampat further? As an honored guest to Raja Ampat please respect the rules and especially the reefs of the park. Avoiddamaging corals and other marine life by controlling your buoyancy and not standing on or contacting thereef. Photographers should be especially careful and not manipulate marine life. Ensure boats anchor indeep water >40m. Anchoring on the reef is the primary cause of tourism-related reef damage! Also insistthat your operator does not dispose of solid wastes at sea, which is still a problem!Secondly, consider donating to either the conservation or community development funds described above. The multistakeholder management team is developing a number of programs which you may like to supportsuch as supplying library books to schools and villages and mosquito nets to reduce the threat of malaria. While we are working on setting up a system where you can donate directly through your operator, for nowdonations can be made at the entrance fee office at the Sorong airport. Similar to the transparency forthe entrance fees collected, all donations are recorded and you will receive an official receipt.

Thank you for visiting Raja Ampat.
We hope you enjoy your stay and aim to ensure it is even better the next time you visit.

Please Contact us: KENNKO PAPUA TOURS & TRAVEL

Email address : papuarudie75@gmail.com

Mobile phn : +62 813 44 37 33 98 - +62 81248933448 (HP)