Waters around Maupora atoll are good for snorkeling, diving, fishing, or just swimming, while enjoying the sights of marine animals and the coral reefs of various colors.
The beauty of Maupora atoll, with its large rocks and mangrove forest along its shoreline, in addition to evergreen and sandalwood trees on the hills, makes the island a perfect tourist destination in Southwest Maluku district.
In light of this, local Culture and Tourism Office is expected to promote and develop Maupora atoll as a location for marine tourism, a fishing area, diving, snorkeling, swimming and other marine activities.
The island, with an area of 10,490 sq km, is accessible within three hours by boat from Kisar island and about 30 minutes by speedboat to the east from Jerusu beach on Romang mainland.
When the weather is good and the waves are gentle, the journey to Maupora atoll is even faster.
Tourists visiting the island can rest comfortably after playing and swimming all day on the 3-kilometer white sandy beach along its west coast.
The crystal clear water around the atoll also adds to the beauty of the beaches, and the sound of water splashing onto the shore in late afternoons will provide a memorable experience for visitors or tourists.
Marine scientists from the Netherlands, Belgium, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), and the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) have discovered that the waters around Maupora atoll are rich with coral reefs and schools of ornamental fish in various sizes and colors.
These fish, which divers can enjoy in Maupora waters, include white-tippet and Clarks anemone fish, clown fish, pearly-scaled angelfish, key-hole angelfish, triangular butterfly fish, brown butterfly fish, latticed butterfly fish, oval-spot butterfly fish, pis butterfly fish, double-saddle butterfly fish, pyramid butterfly fish, emperor angelfish, scaly damsel, regal angelfish, and Moorish idol.
Also found in Maupora waters are highly valued mollusks, such as green turban shells, giant clams, top shells and also various sea cucumbers.
Anyone coming to Maupora will definitely be fascinated with different findings, seen both on the land and in the waters of Maupora.
The uninhabited Maupora atoll is an exotic place for research and enjoyment in Southwest Maluku District.
Visitors to Maupora will be guaranteed to really enjoy every moment of their visit because they will be tempted and fascinated by both its natural and marine beauties and underwater biodiversity of coral reefs.
The natural and marine environment of Maupora is a matchless underwater paradise found nowhere else in the eastern part of Indonesia, though the area seems, so far, to have been ignored by the local government and officials from the tourism industry.
Information and publications about Maupora are also virtually non-existent in print and electronic media, as well as on the internet, because for the people in MBD district, especially in Kisar and Romang islands, the island remains full of mystery.
Also, the flora and fauna on the land of Maupora have not been much explored or studied by observers and environmentalists, and much remains to be done to open the island from its isolation.
As an exotic atoll among 133 islands in Southwest Maluku, Maupora has a stunning underwater paradise to explore for domestic and foreign tourists, as well as marine lovers and scientists.
Rows of tropical forest, mangrove forests, and sandalwood forests with high economic value that flourish naturally in Maupora are the state assets that need to be kept and preserved from illegal logging activities.
Now is time for the central and MBD district governments to focus their attention on the development of Maupora as a tourist destination in the district.
Maupora should be researched and mapped as a marine nature reserve and developed to increase state foreign revenues, in general, and Southwest Maluku peoples welfare, in particular.
Maupora also needs to be considered by investors as a future tourism destination in Southwest Maluku district to draw tourists and marine scientists from Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific nations.
However, Maupora remains enigmatic as has been mentioned in local folktales and noted for years as the meeting point of the devil and black magic users worldwide.
To date, Maupora is still considered sacred for it is a popular rendezvous for Satan and black magic users around the world, locally known as Suanggi.
On special occasions, during a night with a new moon, it is said that the black magic users around the world comes together at Maupora atoll to have a party.
The south coast of the atoll is said as the place where the Suanggi, or those who practice black magic, have their party in a magnificent palace that is invisible to ordinary people.
The party is usually led by the king of Sunagi who sits on a golden throne, seen everyday by ordinary people as a giant floating rock the local people call, "Watupalpiali."
Once in a while, during a certain night with a new moon when people of the surrounding islands of Kisar, Leti and Moa see a bright light from the direction of Maupora atoll, that means the Suanggi or the black magic users around the world are having their party.(*)
Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
