Raja Ampat Reefs

We emerged into what seemed like a lake but which was in fact a deep gulf … studded along its shores with numbers of rocky islets … Every islet was covered with strange-looking shrubs and trees … forming one of the most singular and picturesque landscapes I have ever seen.”
Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, 1869

Left: *Wallace’s map of the Raja Ampat Islands with his route.* Right: *The passage sailed by Wallace between Gam and Waigeo that prompted his quote above.*

Why Raja Ampat?

I’ve been intrigued by this spectacular region ever since reading The Malay Archipelago by Wallace, and exploring this region above and below water has become a personal passion since my first visit in 1990. It doesn’t hurt that the islands harbor Birds-of-Paradise, and the coral reefs are now known to be the richest in the world.

As a rain forest biologist and a marine enthusiast, I’m fascinated by places where the rain forest meets the sea. Raja Ampat is a premier example of this. In fact, it is the best I have ever seen. The striking islets of uplifted limestone eroded by sea and weather give Raja Ampat some of the most striking scenery in Indonesia. Here, as elsewhere, the land and sea are intertwined, but due to there being very little runoff from the porous limestone islands, corals can grow right up to the shore, even under overhanging forest!

Photographer Zafer Kizilkaya dives in the passage between Gam and Waigeo, and checks out a soft coral growing on a fallen tree.

Photo Workshop in Raja Ampat:

With the highest species diversity of reef fish and corals in the world, and spectacular above water scenery, Raja Ampat is a photographers dream. It is also critically important to spread awareness about this region through visual imagery to support its conservation.

Underwater photographer and marine conservationist Zafer Kizilkaya and I hosting a Underwater Photography Workshop August 6-16, 2023! After many years of delays and planning we are excited to have this workshop at Papua Explorers. To learn more about the photo workshop and book please visit Papua Explorers.