Papua Diving

Marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on Earth.

Others claim it, We have it!

The Raja Ampat Archipelago is known as the “crown jewel” in the Papuan “Bird’s Head Seascape” (named for the distinctive shape of the North-Western section of the island of New Guinea) and is an area with unparalleled marine biodiversity.

According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on Earth. Diversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle composed of Indonesia, Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world’s coral reef biodiversity, making Raja Ampat quite possibly the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world.

The area’s massive coral colonies along with relatively high sea surface temperatures, also suggest that its reefs may be relatively resistant to threats like coral bleaching and coral disease, which now jeopardize the survival of other coral ecosystems around the world. The Raja Ampat islands are remote and relatively undisturbed by humans.

The immediate area around the resorts is known as the ‘bulls eye of biodiversity’ and according to scientists, home to the richest reefs on the planet and certainly the most ‘fishy’ dives found anywhere on earth.

There can be strong currents in this area and the dives are planned according to the tides and least current, although the currents are the
primary reason for the many, many fish. Expect to see large numbers of schooling fish, manta rays, various species of pygmy seahorse,
wobbegongs, endemic Raja Ampat ‘walking sharks’, bumphead parrot fish, giant trevally, barracuda and just about every reef fish and critter
in the books. All of this is set against a vibrant backdrop of the world’s healthiest hard and soft corals.

Sorido Bay Resort’s house reef is the famous Cape Kri ,where scientist Dr. Gerry Allen recorded 283 different species of fish during one single
dive. This essentially means that Cape Kri is the fish richest dive site known to science, and also the richest house reef anywhere on the planet!