PAPUAAROUND – For those of you who are visiting Manokwari, West Papua, these are recommendations for tourist sites that are no less interesting than Raja Ampat.
The Raja Ampat archipelago area is the leading West Papua tourism which is the most famous in this eastern region of Indonesia.
However, the natural charm of West Papua tourism is not only concentrated in Raja Ampat, but also spread in Manokwari..
From Doreri Bay to Mansinam Island, here are 5 West Papua tours in Manokwari with their charms:
1. Doreri Bay, Mansinam Island
Mansinam Island is located in Doreri Bay, east of Manokwari City, West Papua.
Quoted from the Manokwari Tourism Office website, this island has an area of 410.97 hectares.
Mansinam Island is surrounded by a beautiful stretch of beach, strewn with white sand which is the specialty of the beaches around Doreri Bay.
The beaches on Mansinam Island are suitable and comfortable as destinations for recreation, swimming and boating.
Not only has beautiful beaches, underwater Mansinam Island is no less interesting.
Tourists can dive in the waters of Mansinam Island and see the natural wealth of beautiful marine life.
On the seabed around Mansinam Island there are also several shipwrecks and aircraft from the Second World War.
Mansinam Island also holds memories of the early history of civilization in the Land of Papua.
Quoted from the page Indonesiakaya.com, on February 5, 1855, two missionaries from Germany named Carl Wilhelm Ottouw and Johann Gottlob Geissler set foot in the Papua region for the first time.
They arrived on this island after making a long voyage and stopping at several big cities in ancient Indonesia.
As missionaries, their main task was to spread the good news written in the Bible, but in practice they were also required to be able to adapt and mingle with the local community, which at that time was still very primitive.
Gradually, the Ottouw-Geissler’s love service continued, until they really fell in love with Mansinam and its people.
There are a number of historical relics left by the two missionaries on this island.
Starting from the memorial cross, the former church to the old well.
The cross that commemorates the introduction of the Gospel to Papua has an inscription written in German with an explanation that Ottouw-Geissler was the first missionary to arrive in Mansinam.
There are also remnants of the church building which are now only the foundations that were first built by Ottouw-Geissler which can still be seen.
Then the old well made by the two missionaries served as a source of water for local residents which is still used today.
Another attraction on this island is the statue of Jesus Christ as high as 30 meters.
The construction of this statue was initiated by the Indonesian government as a form of appreciation for the history of Papuan civilization in Mansinam.
This statue at first glance looks like the statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, completed in 2014.
2. Arfak Mountains and Lake Anggi
In the Arfak Mountains, there are tourist objects ranging from lakes, bird watching spots, to cultural tourism.
Arfak Mountains District itself has not been visited by many tourists. Beautiful nature, strong customs and culture are the main attractions for tourists, quoted from Kompas.com.
Arfak Mountains District is in the highlands so it has cold temperatures. The highest plateau in the Arfak Mountains is around 2,900 meters above sea level.
In Anggi District, for example, in the morning it can reach five degrees Celsius. Sometimes fog also descends in the Arfak Mountains area.
In the Arfak Mountains there are two lakes with panoramic views, namely Lake Anggi Gida and Lake Anggi Giji.
Lake Anggi Giji is located in the Anggi District and is commonly known as the lake of men. Meanwhile, Lake Anggi Gida is located in the Anggi Gida District and is commonly called the lake of women.
The two lakes are located next to each other and are only separated by hills. The two lakes have a beautiful panorama.
Not many tourists have visited here. Even though besides the beautiful scenery, in this lake tourists can swim and enjoy the white sand in the middle of the lake.
From Manokwari City to the two lakes you can drive for 4-5 hours.
3. Yen Beba White Sand Beach
Yen Beba Beach is located in Manokwari, West Papua.
This beach is a tourist beach for Papua with beautiful views.
Yen Beba Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Manokwari, West Papua.
The beach has a unique name, Yen Beba.
This name comes from Yen Beba’s own word which is ‘White Sand’ according to the character of the sand on the beach.
Yen Beba Beach itself is located not so far from Mansinam Island where visitors can see Mansinam Island directly from Yen Beba Beach because of the close distance.
Visitors who come to Yen Beba Beach are dominated by local tourists, followed by national and foreign tourists.
Not only beautiful, Yen Beba Beach also offers local and national culinary delights that can be purchased at quite friendly prices.
To arrive at this area, it can be reached for 10-15 minutes by using public transportation/city transportation or motorbikes.
To get here, you can take advantage of the numerous motorcycle taxi services in Manokwari City.
4. Table Mountain
The Gunung Meja Nature Park is quite close to downtown Manokwari, only about 2.5 km away.
Quoted from the website of the Manokwari District Youth and Sports Tourism Office, the Gunung Meja Nature Park has an area of nearly 500 hectares and has existed since the Dutch and Japanese colonial eras.
The Gunung Meja Nature Park is also a protected forest as well as a research forest, a miniature of Papua’s tropical rain forest which is rich in a diversity of flora and fauna, making it an ideal place for hiking and various research activities.
It is said that during the colonial era, the Table Mountain Nature Park was a Japanese defense area from allied attacks.
The Japanese army made the Table Mountain Nature Park their last defense base when they were pushed by allied forces led by the United States.
One of the authentic proofs of the Japanese thinking to survive is the many bunkers that are widespread in the area at the foot of Table Mountain.
However, the condition of these bunkers is no longer enjoyable, because many of them have been buried in the ground or used as water reservoirs by residents around the mountain.
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