"The Spice Islands"
Maluku Islands Tourism
Maluku islands or Moluccas is an Indonesian archipelago known for their palm beaches and volcanoes. The islands are located east of Sulawesi and west of New Guinea and north of Timor. The political entities encompassing the islands are Maluku and North Maluku.
The island was only producer of nutmeg, cloves and mace and formerly called as Spice islands and hence developed colonial interest from Europe in the 16th century. It was once a traveller destination for divers and bird watchers but in January 1999 massacre between Christians and Muslims led to the loss of many lives and the displacement of more than 500,000 people, which hurt the tourism industry. But the Moluccas are now becoming a world-famous traveller destination again.
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Things to do in Maluku Islands
1. Kota Ambon
Kota Ambon is the capital of the Maluku province and was recognised as the UNESCO City of music in 2019. The city consists of a mix of ethnic groups like the Javanese, Balinese, Butonese, Bugis, Makas (Read More)sar, Papuan, Minahasa, Mining, Flobamora and also the Chinese, Arabian-Ambonese, Spanish-Ambonese, German-Ambonese, Portuguese-Ambonese, Dutch-Ambonese. Ambon is mostly a hilly and steep sloping area while some parts can be flat and shallow-sloped. The climate at Ambon is similar to the tropical rainforest climate where there is no proper dry season, the driest month can be said to be November, while June and July are the coolest months.
2. Kota Ternate
Kota Ternate was voted as the happiest city in all of Indonesia in 2017. Ternate has a tropical climate and is a seismic region with active volcanoes and also belongs to the group of islands of the Ri (Read More)ng Of Fire. Ternate is home to Mount Gamalama and at the foothills are the clove trees, the Hiri island is located in the northern tip and Tolire Lake lies in the northwest bordered by sheer cliffs. The region is dominated by the Muslims and the Ternate language is used for communication however the Indonesian language is also popular.
3. Pulau Seram
The Pulau Seram is called by some Malukans as Nusa Ina (mother island) because they believe that all life sprang from Nunusaku peak located in the western ghats of the Seram island. Pulau Seram is the (Read More) home to a number of endemic species and the Nau-ulu tribes, the tall towering mountains of Seram rise upto 3000m and are home to a wide range of wild species. The people at Seram are divided into two, Christians and Muslims due to either immigration or conversion, with a minority of people belonging to Hinduism.
4. Pulau Kei
Located in the southeastern parts of the Maluku province, the Pulau Kei is known for its spices that are grown in the island like the nutmegs, cloves, mace and many more. The climate here is akin to a (Read More) tropical one, and the months of April-September, is known as the driest months of Kei island where the rains are scarce. Christianity is the dominant religion of the island. The official language is Indonesian, however Keiese is also widely spoken.
5. Pulau Banda
The Pulau Banda got its name as the spice island as it was the original and the only location for the production of spices during the colonial period of the Europeans, Portuguese and Dutch. Most of th (Read More)e present inhabitants of Banda are the second or third generation of migrants from various parts of Indonesia. The Bandanese here speak Malay language but with a peculiar dialect. The island is a volcanic island with a number of active volcanoes. The place is also known for scuba diving and snorkeling.
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Things to Do
1)HIT THE BEACHES :The island is famous for its beaches,full of greeneries,pristine waters and delicious food,a perfect place for family and friends to enjoy a less crowded vacation.
2)DIVING AND SNORKELLING:Not only its beauty,the island has some of the best spots for divers and snorkelling enthusiasts to swim along some magnificent Manta rays and other Marine lives such as the Halmahera Straits where Hammerhead sharks and reef Sharks are a must see.
3)CLOVE ISLAND: Ternate and Tidore island has a history to be the only island that produced Cloves in 18th century when Chinese,Arabs and Japanese used to trade spices from this Island.
4)TREKKING: The island holds some of the beautiful rainforest,coconut palm forest, volcanic hiking spots and many more.It is a perfect place for adventure seeker with plenty of options to explore.If you love birds and are a birdwatcher you can also visit Manusela National Park to witness some of the beautiful endangered species of bird such as the rare moluccan cockatoo.
5)MUCK DIVING: Ever heard about Muck Diving? This weird type of diving style involves searching the sand underwater for little treasures and unique fish such as frogfish,seahorses,mini octopus and sea slugs.The activity is pretty common in the island and full of fun.So if you ever visit this island try Muck diving.
6)LAVA POOL SWIMMING: A massive volcano eruption took place in Banda islands on May 9,1988 destroying everything in its path.Now the molten lava is covered in beautiful coral reef, colorful fishes and other marine lives such as turtles and sharks.
Economy
Pearl farming is one of the major sources of economy of the islands. This island holds several gold mines and helps generating some of the islands economy as the island is known to be one of the forgotten islands of Indonesia and any development for the island is hardly seen. Other than this there are exports of other products from the island such as coconuts, sago, trepang (sea cucumber which is edible), tortoise shell etc.
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FAQs on Maluku Islands
What is the best time to visit Maluku islands?
The islands contains both dry and wet season. October to march is remains dry and the months from May to August remains rainy. The average temperature in the island remains 23 degrees which can peak upto 30 degree celsius.
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What are the places near Maluku islands?
The top places near to Maluku islands are Bali which is 1389 km from Maluku islands, Jakarta which is located 2218 km from Maluku islands, Lombok which is located 1279 km from Maluku islands, Bandung which is located 2143 km from Maluku islands, Surabaya which is located 1596 km from Maluku islands
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