Manado: diving in the coral triangle

Capital of North Sulawesi, Manado overlooks a sea with one of the world's richest coral biodiversity parks.

The center, base for diving in the coral triangle, can be comfortably visited by taxi or rental car.

The National Marine Park of Bunaken, with coral walls descending to six hundred meters of depth, remains among Southeast Asia's most celebrated diving sites.

Just minutes away, the Bersehati Market, Manado's traditional market, sells fresh fish and spices typical of fierce Minahasan cuisine.

Continuing inland you visit Lake Tondano, surrounded by terraced rice paddies and traditional Minahasan culture villages.

Toward evening, Manado's waterfront, called Boulevard, animates restaurants and shopping centers with views of sunset over the Sulawesi sea.

Bunaken Park is part of the so-called Coral Triangle, a marine region that hosts the highest biodiversity of coral species in the world, over three hundred different species in a relatively compact area.

Manado's Minahasan cuisine, among the spiciest in Indonesia, reflects the distinct cultural heritage of this predominantly Christian region, different from the rest of the largely Muslim country, featuring dishes based on meats unusual elsewhere.