An Adventure in Paidado Islands, Papua Province

For those visiting Papua Province during their vacation, they should explore the beautiful Paidado Islands. This archipelago is suitable for island hopping and adventure, without a doubt. Tourists can even conduct many types of water sports and enjoy relaxation in some great spots. According to the information, the archipelago offers 21 islands, but some of them are uninhabited. People who live in Paidado are friendly and they apply a traditional way of living. Most of them are fishermen, for sure. Thus, tourists have the chance to join them fishing on the sea later!

The Nuance
It is true Paidado Archipelago is not as popular as Kepulauan Seribu or other archipelagos in Indonesia. However, in terms of nuance and beauty, it never loses to them. Along the way to the location, tourists may see perfect sea scenery and several islands on the horizon. The water is quite clear, so it would be easy to see fishes and corals from the boat. For the information, the islands feature more than 90 types of corals and 155 fish species. Not to mention tourists may see about 7 species of mangroves in that area!

Exploring Paidado Islands
Paidado Islands has lots of recommended islands to explore and all of them offer a pristine environment. The question is what tourists can do once they arrive at those locations. The most common thing to do is to explore the nature (both the islands and sea). For example, several islands have abundant copra plantations, so tourists can explore them and take some photos during the visit. However, they need to get the permission from the keepers first before exploring the plantations.

The next thing that tourists can do in Paidado Islands is to meet the locals and learn about their culture. For instance, tourists are allowed to join a famous tradition called Sasi Laut. At the time, no one is allowed to catch or cultivate sea creatures. That means fishermen don’t work at all at the time. Instead, these people would work on their copra plantation. The purpose is to retain the big number of sea creatures and preserve the nature.

Another fun thing to do in Paidado Islands is none other than to enjoy water sports like swimming, snorkeling, diving, etc. The clarity and visibility of the seawater make it more comfortable to do those activities, after all. For those who don’t like getting in the water, they can ride the boat and enjoy the sea scenery comfortably. They even have the chance to conduct fishing while riding the boat later!

Nearby Attractions

• Bromsi Island
• Owi Island
• Auki Island
• Pai Island

How to Get There
From Sentani Airport, tourists may spend 30 minutes to reach Wamena Airport. If they come from Jakarta City, though, the flight takes more than 10 hours. After arriving at Wamena, their next destination is Bosnik (located in the east of Biak). From that location, they need to ride a speedboat and head to the archipelago right away. Usually, the voyage takes about 3 hours depending on the weather.

Where to Stay

• Marasi Hotel
• Agung Hotel