Bunaken National Park is located in Manado, North Sulawesi. This National Park is known to have an amazing underwater charm, even this beauty has been recognized internationally. Bunaken National Park Hall was inaugurated in 1975. Before it was inaugurated, there were interesting stories between residents and divers.
In 1970 the people living around Bunaken still strongly believed in magical powers and evil spirits. One day there was a group of divers who wanted to dive to the bottom of the sea in the Bunaken area, but the local community refused because not long ago a fisherman died while diving.
The story of fishermen who died while diving in Bunaken is connected with magical things that they believe in but divers don't believe it. Finally, some divers were desperate to keep diving and they were surprised by the underwater beauty of Bunaken. Finally, the divers told the government about a hidden paradise under the sea that they found and then formed Bunaken National Park.
To make divers fascinated, how cool is the marine life of Bunaken National Park? Bunaken National Park Hall is very rich in marine life. There are many types of coral reefs in Bunaken National Park, there are approximately 58 species. In addition, there are 90 kinds of species that inhabit the coral reefs here.
In addition, in Bunaken there is a species of turtle that you can only find here, called the Hawksbill Turtle. These turtles are not difficult to find because they usually swim around the coral reefs with other fish such as damselfish, clownfish, angelfish, etc.
The location of Bunaken National Park covers an area of 280 miles. In this vast area, the richness of the ecosystem is very abundant. When diving here you can find a variety of fish such as gusumi horse fish, yellow tail passi, goropa, white oci, ila gasi, and pseudanthias.
This very beautiful colored fish school is usually an object that attracts divers to be photographed. If you are lucky you can also find other animals that are no less interesting such as fierce, shrimp, mauskuska, seagulls, sea pigeons, storks, Sulawesi black monkeys, polecats, to deer.
There is also a variety of mangroves on the coast such as mangrove species Rhizopora sp., Lumritzera sp., Sonneratis sp., and Brugukera sp. Of course, several plants adorn the coast of Bunaken besides mangroves such as palm trees, diesel, coconut, and woka.
In the Bunaken National Park Hall area, there are at least 20 spots for diving, and 12 of them are right on Bunaken Island itself. The thing that attracts divers from Bunaken is the clarity of the water. The water in the Bunaken area is so clear that the visibility of divers can reach 20 meters. Even at certain times, the visibility can reach 35 km.
Bunaken National Park also has giant corals that are curved and vertical. This giant coral becomes a place to eat the small fish in the ocean. The charm of Bunaken is increasingly global, supported by the friendliness of the local community. Many of them are fluent in English and even other foreign languages, this makes communication with foreign tourists better so that these tourists become more comfortable when visiting Bunaken.
How about it, is it fun to explore Bunaken and explore the unique story behind its charm? Now Bunaken National Park has been made a world heritage site by UNESCO. That means we have to maintain its sustainability and keep it away from the evil hands that destroy nature.
