Misool island is famous for its diversity of cultures, customs, land and sea, with clear turquoise waters that hold 75 percent of all known species of corals and ornamental fish in the world, and boasts the highest level of marine biodiversity on the planet.
Hoping to draw more local and foreign tourists to Raja Ampat, the local government is developing the island of Misool.
The wild territory of Misool is one of the most visually breath-taking and captivating sites in Raja Ampat.
The island is heavily forested, and at first sight reveals nothing but a thick green carpet of dense forests and mangrove swamps.
To the east and west of the island of Misool, a maze of limestone pinnacles jut sharply out of the blue sea, carved and eroded by the waves and carpeted in vegetation.
The beaches on Misool are pure white sand, fringed with coconut trees leading out to the turquoise waters.
Aside from the panoramic scenery and wealth of marine life, Misool is also home to ancient cultural sites. A number of petroglyphs can be found on walls of caves throughout the island, dating back approximately 5,000 years.
Hence, the Raja Ampat district government has set its focus on developing the island into a new tourist area, though the limitation of sea transport is still a constraint.
Therefore, Raja Ampat District Head Abdul Faris Umlati has proposed to the central government to assign a ship to serve the route from the district town of Waisai to Misool island.
Umlati expressed his hope that the proposal to obtain a ship can be met by the central government.
The local government, according to Umlati, is currently building facilities and infrastructure in Misool island to enable tourists to enjoy the scenery of the island from the top of a rock cliff.
In addition, the local government is building some accommodations and restaurants on the island for visitors.
Compared to the already well-known islands, such as Pinanemo and Wayak islands, Umlati remarked that Misool island is the most beautiful tourist destination in Raja Ampat.
A survey in South Misool Nature Reserve has recorded 159 bird species including 4 birds of paradise and 5 bat species, and numerous protected rare birds.
There are yellow-crested white cockatoo bird (Cacatua galerita), forest kingfisher (Halcyon macleayii), julang Irian (Aceros plicatus), king parrots (Probosciger aterrimus), parrots (Eclectus roratus), red-black-headed parrot (Eclectus roratus lory), Mambruk Viktoria (Goura victoria), cassowaries, Paradisaea sp., and maleo (maleo Magrocephalus).
Once the visitors arrive in the forest of Raja Ampat, they will be greeted by these lovely birds with their lovely songs found and heard nowhere else around the world.
Also, delicately tinted wild flowers perfuming the air, along with the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green, are found around for visitors to enjoy.
In just a moment, the lofty, trees, the buds, the flowers, and its surrounding beauty can speak to the hearts of visitors and invite them to become acquainted with Him who made them all.
There, the visitors will be amazed by the trees, the buds, the flowers, and the birds of the air as they warbled their carols of praise, unencumbered with thought of care.
Further, the hospitality of the local residents will cause the tourists visiting Raja Ampat to be amazed and curious to explore the extent to which the area is rich in both natural and marine beauty.
The abundance of undersea and land biological diversity is so stunning and has also made Raja Ampat archipelago a paradise for eco-tourism activities.
Even in the Misool conservation area, there are more than 40 saltwater lakes and most of them are inhabited by jellyfish which do not sting.
The saltwater lakes with marine biota in Raja Ampat are not widely known and still need further research to determine their condition and functioning in detail.
Lately, the lakes with jellyfish have started to attract local and foreign tourists.
Those saltwater lakes are expected later to be an ideal setting for outdoor activities like rafting, canoeing, swimming and even fishing.
The existence of the lakes in Misool is expected to give maximum benefit to the local society and to attract more and more domestic and foreign tourists.
Unfortunately, some tourists have assessed that the tour rates offered by Raja Ampat were expensive and it may affect other travelers keen on visiting this tourist area.
"Raja Ampat is much more beautiful than Bali, but the tour rates are more expensive when compared to Bali," Sami Ninggoroh, a tourist of Indian descent who visited Raja Ampat along with some Japanese tourists, stated recently.
According to Ninggoroh, the Raja Ampat tour rates should be reconsidered as these are quite high, and may negatively impact visitors traffic.
"We have been to Bali and found that the services offered there were better while the travel rates were cheaper as compared to Raja Ampat," he pointed out.
Further, Ninggoroh opined that tourists visiting Bali will certainly want to revisit it, but visitors to Raja Ampat will think twice before planning another trip as it is quite expensive.(*)
Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
