Raja Ampat, Marine archipelago in Southwest Papua, Indonesia
Raja Ampat is an island archipelago in Southwest Papua comprising over 1,500 islands, including four main ones: Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo. The islands are surrounded by coral reefs and situated within tropical waters.
Archaeological evidence shows that humans inhabited Raja Ampat around 50,000 years ago, when Misool and Salawati were connected to New Guinea's mainland. Rising sea levels later separated these areas into distinct islands.
The name Raja Ampat comes from a local story about a woman who found seven eggs, with three of them becoming regional kings.
Visitors reach Raja Ampat through Marinda Airport on Waigeo Island or by boat from neighboring regions. Plan accordingly for inter-island travel, as boats are the primary means of getting around this scattered archipelago.
Waters around Raja Ampat contain roughly 75 percent of known coral species worldwide, with over 550 types of coral found here. This marine richness makes it one of the planet's most biodiverse ocean ecosystems.
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