Earth's most biodiverse marine world — 75% of all coral species and mushroom karst islands
Raja Ampat (Four Kings) is an archipelago of over 1,500 islands off the tip of the Bird's Head Peninsula in West Papua, consistently ranked the world's most biodiverse marine area. Divers record more coral and fish species here in a single dive than in an entire week in the Caribbean. Above the surface, the limestone karst islets of Wayag and Piaynemo rise from mirror-flat emerald water in formations photographers travel the world to see.
Raja Ampat's four main islands take their name from a local legend of four eggs hatching into four kings — Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, and Misool — who each ruled their own domain. The region was part of the Sultanate of Tidore's sphere of influence from the 14th century, which gave the Dutch East India Company nominal control in the 17th century. Indonesian sovereignty arrived in 1963 when West Papua was formally incorporated, and the region gained provincial status as West Papua in 2003.