Karimunjawa is an archipelago in the Java Sea, Indonesia, approximately
83 kilometres northwest of Jepara. The island name means “a stone’s throw from
Java” in Javanese. The main island is also known as karimun. Stands from 27
islands, this mini archipelago became marine national park and it’s like a
treasure for those who love marine life. Here can be found protected coral
reefs (very colorful plateaus and plains in deep and shallow waters), secluded
and tranquil white beaches, pelican and hornbill, sea grass and kinds of sea
creatures, from crabs, anchovy, starfish, sharks, stingray, jellyfish, red
snappers, etc.
The
Marine National Park Karimun Jawa is 110,000 ha and lies 90 km north east of
Jepara in Central Java. We will find mangrove forest and beach forest. The park
is named after the largest island Karimun Jawa. The vegetation consists mainly
of mangrove and beach forest, although there is some lowland rain forest on
Karimun Jawa. Most of the islands are surrounded by sandy beaches and fringing
coral reefs. Fresh water is confined to a few small wells and forest streams on
Karimun Jawa. A number of endemic animals live on the island while on the
beaches sea turtles lay their eggs. The average tidal range is 92 cm.
Most
of the beaches in Karimunjawa Islands are white sandy beaches. Here you will be
free for leisure to enjoy and relax while swimming, sunbathing, and snorkeling.
From 27 islands in Karimunjawa, there are 5 islands that are perfect for
diving, snorkeling and fishing.
Five
of these islands are domestically inhabited and together with 22 others from
the four major zones; Zone I is the core sanctuary area and is out of bounds to
all, Zone 2 is the wilderness area open to limited tourism, Zone 3 is the
utilization area, Zone 4 is the buffer zone.
For
you who are attracted for swimming or snorkeling, you can visit The Tanjung
Gelam, Menjangan Kecil and Cemara Kecil Island, and You who prefer for
sunbathing, the comfort places to visit are white sandy beaches in Menjangan
Besar and Cemara Kecil. To see the marine life of Karimunjawa Islands, you can
visit Gosong Cemara and Burung Island by rent a fisherman’s boat. Another
activities are bicycle water, water surfing, hiking and camping specially in
Karimunjawa and Kemujan Island. The visitors can also see The makam Sunan
Nyamplung, He was a leader in Karimunjawa Islands, a historical place where the
first Dutch Ship landed. To visit every island, the visitor can rent a
motorboat.
Up
to this date Karimunjawa has 12 dive sites. Most of the diving is done on the
fringing reefs around the islands, as well as submerged reefs, and shipwrecks.
The sites are all to the west of the main island
Karimunjawa
offers good diving experience. Various small islands around Karimunjawa are
available for diving and snorkling. Pulau Tengah, Tanjung Gelam, and Menjangan
Besar offers you the most beautiful scenes you have ever seen in your
life. The reefs have 35 types of hard corals, sponges, gorgonian, soft and red
corals, mixtures of fringing, barrier, and patch with bottom depths ranging
from 15 to 40 meters. During your diving time, you’ll be accompanying by
amazing 240 or more variety of fish. Their variouscolour and size will give you
a kind of feeling that you’re living in giant aquarium. You could also ask
for wreck diving session at the island of Batu Kunci, Karang Kapal,
Karang Ketel, and Batulawang. If you’re not familiar with diving, you can still
enjoy the beautiful sea of these islands by snorkling, which is the safest way
to see beautiful scenes down there.
If
diving and snorkling are not enough for you, swimming with sharks will give you
more adrenalin rush. A shark’s captivity in Menjangan island serve you with
numbers of various sharks. While your adrenalin pumped up to the highest level,
it is really safe for you to swim around those sharks especially when
local guide with maximum experience swims beside you. There’s nothing to worry
about in this rare experience
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