RAJA AMPAT ECO RESORT – PAPUA EXPLORERS DIVE RESORT

Papua Explorers Resort is located in the heart of Raja Ampat. The region is the crown jewel of the Coral Triangle and the epicenter of global marine biodiversity. Located on the northwest tip of the Bird’s Head Peninsula of West Papua. Raja Ampat translates into English as Four Kings and gets its name from a local mythology. It is about four kings that occupy the four big islands: Salawati, Batanta, Waigeo and Misool. As stunning archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, it hosts thousands of species some even endemic to the region.

Raja Ampat lies in the heart of the Coral Triangle. It holds the prestigious title as the most marine biodiverse place on earth. Further, many say it offers the best diving in the world. In a count in 2011 scientists recognized the region of Raja Ampat to contain 1427 reef fish species. Additionally, we find over 600 coral species (75% of the world’s coral species) here. Not to mention the pelagic life that is abundant in the area.

The Most Famous Dive Sites Right at Your Doorstep

Make the most of your time above and under the water by staying at Papua Explorers Raja Ampat. Our Raja Ampat eco resort is located in the south of Gam island. More precisely we are just along the coast of worldwide renowned Dampier Strait. That means close to the most famous Raja Ampat scuba diving and snorkeling sites. Among them Manta Point, Cape Kri and many more.

Exploring Raja Ampat with Papua Explorers Eco Resort, you won’t have annoying, long boat rides. It won’t take you hours to get to the dive sites. Also, you don’t have to pay extra to dive at Dampier Strait. Further we won’t limit the number of dives you can do at these sites.

Instead, you will have the freedom to choose from more than 50 dive sites around us. Most of which are only 10 to 30 minutes by boat away and all are equally amazing.

Resort and Accommodation

We constructed our Raja Ampat eco resort using traditional Papuan construction methods and local, natural materials from Raja Ampat. The spacious overwater bungalows are designed to be in perfect harmony with the exotic surrounding, allowing the guests to feel the breeze from the rainforests, enjoy the songs of the tropical birds and soothe their souls with the flutter of the waves.

Our 300 m2, over-the- sea restaurant and lounge is designed to offer a relaxing environment to enjoy various international and local dishes freshly prepared in our restaurant and to unwind and relax between the dives.

After a long day of diving or snorkeling our sundeck and spa on the main jetty is another great place to enjoy the sunset and beautiful tropical scenery of Raja Ampat.

Local Environment

Apart from the stunning underwater world, there are plenty of things to see on land as well. The little peninsula that Papua Explorers Resort is located on is home to the endemic Red Bird of Paradise. You can also observe another endemic species, the Wilson’s Bird of Paradise, on our neighbour island, Waigeo.  These unique birds and their amazing mating ceremonies can be observed after an early morning hike in the rainforest. This is also an excellent way to observe the amazing plants and other creatures of the rainforest.

Our neighboring village Yenwaupnor, to which we have close ties, is just a short walk along the beach away. It’s a small village with simple lifestyle, but you’ll be welcome to have a stroll there and might see familiar faces, as many of our employees and trainees come from this village. You can access Yenwaupnor and the beautiful mushroom islands that lay along Gam by kayaks as well.

Conservation Efforts and Eco-Tourism

As a Raja Ampat Eco Resort, we are committed to create sustainable and unforgettable human-nature experiences while conserving the waters of Raja Ampat and developing the local communities we are surrounded with. Papua Explorers has received the ISTA, Indonesia Sustainable Tourism Award in 2018 and ADTO Sustainability Award in 2019.

We engrave our philosophy of eco-tourism in the whole operation as well as the design and construction of the buildings. We provide environmentally friendly soap and shower gel for our guests to use for free. Natural bacteria in our septic tanks reprocess our water. We buy the fresh fish that we serve in our restaurant from the local sustainable fishers and many of our vegetables are from the local farmers.

Additionally we try to minimize our plastic waste by using garbage bags made out of cassava and stainless-steel straws. We have been distributing free reusable stainless-steel water bottles to our guests. You will find refilling stations at the restaurant, dive center as well as all the bungalows and dive boats. The shower heads and toilets are low flow to conserve water. We harvest rainwater and use it for watering the food garden, also for the laundry and kitchen.

Papua Explorers Foundation

Papua Explorers Eco Resort is the main funder of our NGO, Papua Explorers Foundation which we established in 2018 to allocate more resources for our community and conservation projects. Every guest who stays at Papua Explorers, directly contributes and supports all these initiatives. For further information on our projects and how you can support us, please visit the website of our Papua Explorers Foundation SEA Centre.