Sailing towards the edge of the Pacific Ocean, the Raja Ampat 7-night cruise expedition is a visual spectacle with unmatched marine diversity on show at the best dive and snorkel sites on Earth Onboard the Aqua Blu: Raja Ampat Translated to mean “Four Kings”, Raja Ampat captivates with the enigmatic beauty of its limestone karst island clusters, spawned out of legendary myth and continuing to bewilder and enthral explorers with dramatic landscapes that shelter secret lagoons, bays and beaches. In between excursions to discover the world’s most biodiverse environments, Raja Ampat offers the chance to find that one perfect private hideaway out of thousands. To put it simply, every day is a National Geographic moment right before your eyes. Raja Ampat’s world-class wildlife excursions are both on the ground and underwater. It is here that famous 19th-century naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace had stumbled upon species of the bird of paradise that exist nowhere else but in this region on Earth. Catching sight of the otherworldly beauty of Wilson’s bird of paradise and the Red bird of paradise and their mesmerizing behavior is arguably one of life’s most rewarding wildlife experiences. These winged wonders live alongside 350 other bird species, including forest kingfishers and king parrots. Meanwhile, Raja Ampat’s many beaches are often the nesting ground for turtle species including the Pacific leatherback, the largest of all living turtle species on Earth, while the world’s most extensive network of mangrove forests support populations of dugong and juvenile fish. Raja Ampat is also a designed Marine Protected Area (MPA) by the Indonesian government. Raja Ampat: Home to the world’s most diverse underwater habitats At almost every turn, the mesmerizing turquoise and blue hues of Raja Ampat’s waters constantly jostle for your attention and beckon you to dive down and under. Located at the heart of the Coral Triangle, the region is known to house every kind of underwater habitat imaginable; pristine reef flats, secret bays, swift channels, deep drop-offs, shallow seamounts, mangroves, marine lakes, and protected coral gardens are just a sample of the types of marine habitats that can be found in the roughly 20,000 square mile region. As a result of the sheer diversity of underwater habitats, Raja Ampat is a thriving subterranean metropolis that houses more than 1,300 species of tropical marine fish (about 50% of all known species) and more than 600 species of coral (nearly 75% of all known species of reef-building corals) in addition to manta rays, rare sea turtle species and schooling hammerheads. Cape Kri in the Dampier Strait notably holds the world record for the most number of species counted in a single dive (374 in total). Raja Ampat: Witness the cradle of life between two major oceans Nature’s underwater splendor isn’t defined with sheer numbers alone. Raja Ampat also happens to be in the middle of a major cetacean migration route and aggregation site where various whales and dolphin species have been sighted. Of great significance is also the fact that the region is the meeting point of the Indian and the Pacific Ocean called the Indonesian Throughflow, where a six-inch (15cm) average height difference between these two oceans creates an immense exchange of water carrying millions of aquatic eggs and larvae that spawn to life or serve as a vital source of food for marine animals. At the same time, the cooler water from deep-sea trenches and basins has also played a part in Raja Ampat’s stunning biodiversity. These environments offered marine life shelter from glacial water in the ice ages, and today offers natural protection against rising sea temperatures that have resulted in the bleaching of other relatively unprotected coral habitats including the Great Barrier Reef and the Maldives. Endowed with natural geological defences, Raja Ampat is truly Mother Nature’s last frontier. Aqua Expeditions’ Raja Ampat cruise aboard the Aqua Blu cruise ship sails every year from December through to February, the best season to cruise Indonesia and the regions islands. The cruise sets sail on 7-night itineraries, departing from the city of Sorong. Come sail with us on the Aqua Blu and experience one of the world’s most rewarding marine expeditions.