Manado Tua Island, Manado

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Manado Tua--or Old Manado--island, together with the islands of Bunaken, Siladen, Mantehage and Nain form the Bunaken-Manado Tua Marine National Park. The Park lies just off shore from the city of Manado, capital of the province of North Sulawesi, site of the first World Ocean Conference 2009 which held in May. Covering a total of 89,065 hectares, the Bunaken-Manado Tua park is among the most spectacular dive sites in the world.


The islands are separated from the mainland by a submarine trench that reaches a depth of 1,200 meters, and keeps these waters relatively free from city garbage and silt. The reserve is protected by law from spearfishing and coral or fish-collecting, as well as from dynamite fishing.


Only one hour by motor boat from Manado town, the island of Manado Tua is distinguished by the majestic perfect cone of the extinct volcano that formed the island, which is capped with a rainforest on its summit. Around the island are underwater plateaus sloping from 5 meters to 30 meters, fringed by vertical coral walls plunging 25 to 50 meters down, and large caves with hanging coral reefs: a truly amazing sea garden. Next to Manado Tua is the more well-known island of Bunaken.