Perhaps the greatest feature of diving Central Sulawesi and the Togian Islands is the incredible diversity of reefs to explore here. It is the only dive destination in Indonesia, and one of the very few places in the world, to boast coral atolls, fringing reefs, barrier reefs, as well as artificial reefs - wreck diving. The wealth of riches the Togians possess is enough to make any other travel destination jealous. As well as the reef systems, there are 30 or so coral gardens, reef slopes, deep walls, sandy slopes, deep water features such as The Crack - an awesome swim through at 50 m, mangroves, sea grasses, muck diving, and easy house reefs - all easily accessible from the local resorts. The quite isolated Togian Islands receive very few visitors and there are only a small numbers of locals, so the reefs are in exceptional condition, and have terrific diversity.

Almost completely surrounded by the protective arms of central and north Sulawesi, Tomini Bay is reputedly the calmest deep water bay in the world. This is home to the undeveloped and remote Togian Islands. If you are looking for an idyllic tropical setting, with great diving right on your doorstep and little else to distract you, you've come to the right place. An excellent, and in no way inferior, alternative to other more popular Sulawesi dive destinations, no matter what your diving interest.

Diving Season

The Togian scuba diving season runs all year round. Conditions are pretty consistent all year however, the very best times to dive here are in dry season from March to December.

Dive Sites

B24 Bomber Wreck

On 3 May 1945, Sulawesi (then known as Celebes) and Borneo were under Japanese occupation during World War II. The 307th American Bomb Squadron was engaged in striking missions against these two locations. It was on one of these missions that this aircraft suffered engine failure and caught fire. As it was too far to return to base at Morotai Island, and the islands are densely covered in jungle - potentially dangerous to parachutists, the decision was made to crash land the plane in the sea at the Togean Islands in Tomini Bay. All loose items were jettisoned on approach and, after skidding 50 metres, the plane came to a gliding halt on the sea's surface. All 11 crew escaped from the plane in life rafts, with cuts and bruises, and made it to nearby Togian Island, just to the north. The craft, however, lost its nose turret and three propellers in the landing, and sank about two hours afterwards, thus becoming Togean Islands best wreck dive.

The plane, 17 m long by 22 m wide, lies upright on a flat sandy bed with its cockpit to the north west, its right wing touching the sea bed and its left wing slightly elevated. The wreck is in excellent condition and no artifacts have been removed. The right wing still has its remaining propeller intact, and you can easily see the machine guns mounted on the rear of the aircraft. Peer through the windows and you can make out the parachute harnesses; take a look at the cockpit and you'll see the captain's and co-pilot's chairs and all manner of electrical equipment, now forever silent but once alive with hurried life and death instructions from an historic time past.

The Bomber is now the congregating centre for hundreds of bigeye trevally, creating a never-ending circular wall of dazzling silver. The tail wings are refuge to some lionfish and batfish. There are green tube sponges and barrel sponges, particularly at the rear of the aircraft. Some porous coral growth shows itself on the fuselage, and purple and yellow sea squirts and blue tunicates decorating the main wings.

Batu Gila

This Togian diving site is a rocky ridge jutting out from a deep north facing wall drop-off, like the nose of a sunken Roman statue. The ridge is some 25 m wide and 50 m long, and lies at a depth of 28 - 42 metres. It is the most extreme northern point of this long reef, and therefore is more exposed to currents, has great visibility and is generally the best place to hang out in deeper water for spectacular big fish action. Drop down onto this undamaged ridge of sponges and gorgonians and you'll soon be engulfed by legions of long-fin bannerfish and redtooth triggerfish, often seen together in massive schools.

Once you've gained your buoyancy control and taken a deep breath, take a good look deep down below, off the edge of the ridge. This is the best place to be in Togian Islands diving to see schooling scalloped hammerhead sharks - at the top of many a deep diver's wish-to-see list. Also here are grey reef sharks, silvertips, manta rays, tuna and barracuda. Barracuda tend to move in large, spiralling schools. If you ever see a large school scatter in the blink of an eye, then you must know that something sinister and special may be approaching. Sure enough, out of the deep may come the endangered Blue Marlin - these majestic creatures are one of the fastest creatures on five fins, and can comfortably grow to a startling 3'bd m. Batu Gila is just to the north east of Dominic Rock and north west of Lost Reef, two more Togean dive sites.

Dominic Rock

Not a dive site for sufferers of vertigo or the faint of heart, the north side of Dominic Rock features a drop off into the black abyss. Already at 40 metres, you can imagine the depths we are talking about here! Here there's a good chance to see mature eagle rays swooping past, grey reef sharks, and large big-eye trevally circling the nearby overhangs. The rock is festooned with green branching cup corals, mauve, lime and cream shaded gorgonian fans, barrel sponges, purple dendronephthya soft tree corals, creamy wire corals, and yellow whip corals. Large black frogfish squat motionless on the rock and mid night snapper ar ever present. Queensland groupers occupy the ledges of the other nearby boulders, barramundi stalk the territory, and fantail rays often come to life when you pass over, exploring the nearby area. An altogether adventurous Togean Islands diving site, Dominic Rock lies at the northern most and deepest section of the reef.

Pasir Tengah

One of the best sites in Togean Islands diving, Pasir Tengah is a three kilometre wide coral atoll with non-stop vertical walls plunging down to depths of 400 m. Just breaking the surface, the walls are adorned with huge red and green tube sponges, black branching sponges, gorgonians, leather corals, leaf corals, and black coral ferns. You can descend to any depth on any side and be greeted by passing packs of marauding pelagics, such as trevally of all types - big eye, six-banded, yellowfin and bluefin, wahoo and Spanish mackerel. In the depths you can often catch sight of white-tip and black-tip reef sharks and, if your luck is in, silky sharks. Common fish in the shallows are large schools of mid night snappers, yellowback fusiliers and reticulated butterflyfish, as well as Spanish dancers and a host of other colourful nudibranchs. One extremely lucky diver even saw a passing nautilus on a night dive - a rare find and a treasure indeed.

Taipi Wall

Taipi Wall is a north to south running wall with many specatular overhangs, steps, jutting seams and points, cracks and crevices, many crammed full of rich sea fans and gorgonians. On the sloping sandy shelf at the foot of the wall are dense patches of cabbage corals, and outlying coral bommies and boulders with table corals. The wall is covered with red and blue soft corals with their many-host shrimps and red cleaner shrimps, black coral bushes, green ascidians, tiger cowries, leaf scorpionfish, large crocodile fish, dwarf hawkfish, spottail dartfish, and numerous nudibranchs including the blue dragon.

On top of the wall is a small coral garden, where you can enjoy your safety stop. Here are beautiful pink soft corals, gently swaying in the easy current. There are Haddon's sea anemones galore, with their commensal black and white saddleback anemonefish, Clark's anemonefish and anemone shrimp. Bumphead parrotfish munch there way across the flats. Large red horned sea stars rest on the sand, with tube anemones, sailor's eyeballs (not the real thing!) and bi-colour blennies. There are often black-tip reef sharks lurking in the shallows too. Taipi Wall is a relatively easy Togian dive site that you won't mind returning to again and again.

Una Una

A small volcanic island with fertile laval ash sand, Una Una is little visited and consequently has some spectacular and very healthy diving sites all around the island. The jewel in the crown of Una Una dive sites has got to be The Pinnacle. In our opinion, this is the best site in Togean Islands diving and one of the best we have ever visited - the teeming fish life here is breathtaking. A submerged, large rock pinnacle on the east coast of Una Una, the walls here drop off to 60 m on the east side and there are some absolute monster examples of black, gold and green tube sponges, vase sponges, cone sponges, barrel sponges. There are masses of hard corals, montipora sheet corals, acropora corals, and very little evidence of any human damage.

Circling the pinnacle near full moon and you may be party to the spawning of millions of lantern tobies. These schools are so thick that it can cause you vertigo, and you literally cannot see anything else! Once you manage to escape the plague of toby fish, you have the opportunity to see frequent visits from turtles and eagle rays. Long nose emperors are residents here, as are harlequin sweetlips and mid night snappers. Other schooling fish that sweep by include yellowdash and three-striped fusiliers. Crocodile long toms roam the open sea shallows. Nearing the end of the dive, you'll no doubt approach the garden decorating the top of this pinnacle. Although evidence of bomb damage exists here, the fish life is still quite staggering. Every direction you turn there are more colourful fish - bumphead parrotfish, pyramid butterflyfish, redtooth triggerfish, red fire gobies, regal angelfish, orange anemonefish, dusky chromis, eight banded butterflyfish, pink-tailed triggerfish, six banded angelfish...the list is endless - all compete for your attentions amongst the mushroom soft corals, and acrapora elseyi corals.

Apollo is a patch reef on a sloping sandy bed at the south west side of Pulau Una Una, starting at 21 m and running down south to 45 m. The main reason to dive here are the enormous schools of blacktail barracuda that hang out here. There are literally thousands of these large fish, forming dense walls that can block out the light - a truly amazing sight. On the reef itself you'll find a domination of brown and green tube sponges and calciferous barrel sponges. There are Napoleon wrasse, black and white snappers, clown triggerfish, yellow-back and purple anthias, moray eels, as well as rainbow runners passing by in the depths. Passing over the sand in the direction of the island you'll find panther flounders and may witness a sight you will never have seen before - thousands of Bennett's toby fish seemingly performing an elaborate dance of communication. This astounding sight is like the marine equivalent of the frantic scene inside a beehive - an experience you will never forget.

South Sulawesi comprisies three main dive areas: The Makassar Islands, an xcellent base for exploring the Spermonde Archipelago; Seleyar, a narrow island rising 4000m from the bottom of the Banda sea, full of caves, waterfalls and untouched nature; and Wakatobi, considered one of the "last outspots of diving civilization"

Makassar Islands

Makassar is an excellent base for trips to the group of small islands and atolls that make up the Spermonde Archipelago. A part of the islands are densely populated, but some are still uninhabited. The east monsoon season (April - November) is the best period for visiting the Spermonde Archipelago. Many of the islands close to Makassar show interesting village life and some historical sites can be found on the island of Kodengareng Lompo. Highlights of the area are listed below.

Samalona

This island is inhabited by a few families and its oval shaped area is about 300 x 600 meters, so it takes only a short stroll to see its complete coastline. Beautiful coral reefs are easily accessible from the shore of Samalona. Diving is the best on west and south side, with a good mix of hard and soft corals. An incredible bio-diversity offers excellent opportunities for macro photographers: batfish, lionfish, scorpionfish, stonefish, mandarinfish, bleuspotted stingrays, lobster, nudibranches, turtle, cuttlefish, pleurobranchus , trevallies, flatworms, anemones.

The large trees on Samalona provide shelter on sunny days. You can relax and enjoy a soft drink or basic meal in the local restaurant.

Kodengareng Keke

Dolphin Resort built some small cottages on Kodengareng Keke. There is no longer free access to this tiny island. Though the building of Dolphin Resort is not yet complete, it is ready to receive guests who are satisfied with basic facilities. As the island has little vegetation, you will appreciate the verandas of the cottages, which give good shelter on a sunny day. Apart from the wrecks, the island offers some nice coral gardens between 15 and 28 meters.

Kodongbali, Tambakulu and Suranti

These three islands to the north of the archipelago are not much visited at all. Similar to Kapoposang and Lanyukan, they are situated near the edge of a shelf and offer a drop off of a few hundred meters on the sea side. Kodongbali has a very nice and undamaged reef top. The edge of Spermonde Archipelago offers plenty of good diving all the way from Suranti in the North to Lanyukan in the East. Large pelagics and reef sharks are very common.

Kapoposang

Kapoposang is a beautiful green island about 2km long covered with casuarina trees and coconut palms. This island too is located at the edge of the Spermonde shelf, pointing toward the deep sea. It contains some small villages. The people of Kapoposang make their living through fishing and harvesting coconuts.

Lanyukan

The island Lanyukan is located on the outer edge of the Spermonde shelf with a barrier reef protecting its western shore. Around Lanyukan are reefs with steep drop-offs. This is the place to spot big fish like sharks and barracuda. There is a small village on the island but Lanyukan does not offer facilities for staying overnight.

Selayar

A narrow island rising 4000m from the bottom of the Banda sea, full of caves, waterfalls and untouched nature. The resort stands alone on the east coast, where steep jungle-covered mountains plunge into the deep blue sea. Living on selayar are Bugis and Bajau, formerly known as sea gypsies, to which have been added islamic, chinese and dutch influences.

The 3km long house reef is in pristine condition with steep walls thickly coverd in hard and soft corals. Fast speed boats allow us to reach a wide variety of other sites, and follow us during drift dives. There are mostly wall dives, some underwater mountains and slopes to discover.

The marine life includes nudibranchs, reef fish, schools of jacks and barrakudas, turtles, pelagics, groupers, eagle and manta rays, reef sharks and even hammerhead sharks. Dolphins, whales and dugongs have been spotted during our boat trips. Caves, waterfalls and other landbased attractions make excellent places for lunch. Day-trips to the Takabonerate-atoll possible.

Getting There

Plane to Ujung Pandang. Overnight stay in Ujung Pandang (depending on time of arrival) Transfer to Bira (4h) in AC bus along a beautiful coastline and fishing villages, german- or english-speaking guide available In Bira we pick up the tourists by speedboat (2h to the location)

Wakatobi

Wakatobi lies just off the south-eastern tip of Sulawesi in Tukang Besi Archipelago.

It is an undiscovered jewel of Indonesian diving. This island is populated, on land by the Butonese and on the ocean's edge by Bajo people, or "sea gypsies". The islands have been formed by geologic uplift of fossil coral terrace, evident in the step like appearance of these islands from a far.

A stroll through any of Tukang Besi's islands reveals fascinating fossil reef formations, including the occasional giant clam or nautiloic shell. Dugong, sperm and pilot whales, spinner and bottlednose dolphine, coconut crabs, maleo birds, and orcas can be found. But the real draw of this area is the many scattered atolls, most of which are inaccessible to the Bajo's dugout canoes for seven months of the year. The fish population here are as dense as any in Indonesia. The corals, both hard and soft, are fantastic.

Tukang Besi

As one of the world's most unique diving destinations, the Tukang Besi chain of islands, south-east of Sulawesi, could be considered as one of the "last outspots of diving civilization" featuring colossal drop-offs and magnificent coral reefs. Remote and exotic, Tukang Besi was once referred to by the Cousteau Society as the finest diving spot in the world. An enchanting world of natural beauty.

The entire area serves as a cetaceam thoroughfare, and night dives along the walls here are absolutely breathtaking. The entire wall brust into vivid color as Tubastrea and soft corals 'bloom', and the diversity of invertebrates such as custaceans, nudibranch, pencil urchi, etc. is bewildering.

Currently this area is accessible to divers only from Wakatobi Dive Resort on the small island of Tolandono, or by occasional passing liveaboards.

Wakatobi boasts more than three dozen dive sites to choose from. Here is a sample:

The House Reef

Six different sites are accessible directly off the beach in front of the resort. It's only 80 yards from the shoreline to the drop-off. Highlights include a great variety of fishes, invertebrates, macro subjects, beautiful soft corals, gorgonians, tunicates, whips, sponges, overhangs -- all totaling a spectacular rainbow of color.

Onamobaa Cavern

An extension of the house reef, this is an excellent soft coral dive. Often compared with Hanging Gardens at Sipadan, it's actually larger and more diverse. Every part of the reef is covered with color and life.

Inka's Palette

Beginning as a gentle slope, Inka's Palette plummets into the depths with multiple overhangs. There are very large tube sponges, huge leather corals, a giant Tridacna Clam, good fish life and a colorful palette of hard and soft corals.

Pastel Reef

Similar to Inka's in the array of life, the colors are diverse yet subdued to pastel hues. At depth, gardens of neon yellow wire corals spiral out into surrealistic shapes. When the current is running and the corals open, it's a vastly beautiful dive.

Mari Mabuk

This is a long ridge running from 15 feet down to 80. It features huge sea fans, coral heads adorned in bright soft corals and feather stars blooming in the frequently swift current. The saddle that bridges the reef contains Blue ribbon Eels, leaf fish, Crocodile fish, scorpion fish, nudibranchs and more.

Turkey Beach

This is a delightful shallow drift through brightly lit coral gardens. Two large canyons contain schools of Batfish and Bronze Snappers. It's also a good spot to encounter turtles, Eagle Rays and Bumphead Parrotfish.

Lorenz's Delight

Begin by plunging deep, where forests of immense yellow wire corals spiral 15 feet or higher off the steeply sloping wall. Then work your way up to the 60-foot range, where an overhanging ledge harbors big sea fans framed in colorful soft corals. Flush with schooling fish life, the brightly-hued coral continues to within a foot or two of the surface.

Roma

Roma is as fine as any dive site in the world. Large schools of fusiliers, Pyramid Butterfly fish, Sergeant Majors, houndfish and Redtooth Triggerfish swirl around you in an endless dance. A compact pinnacle in the center of the reef, crammed with color and life, this is a complete dive in itself.

Often referred to simply as "Manado", north Sulawesi offers divers a choice of five dive destinations (excluding the Togians), two of which are open all year round. All dive destinations are accessed by flying into Manado.

Bunaken National Marine Reserve

The primary destination of the three is the 75,265ha Bunaken Marine Reserve and its five main islands, home to outstanding pelagics, fringing reefs and fish life, plus world-class coral walls offering long and action-packed drifts. The reason this reserve is so diverse is that it is perched on the edge of a great shelf with its oceanic wall plunging 2000 metres to the floor.

Between August and September, Sperm Whales are common around Bunaken, often being seen close to shore. There is also the possibility of seeing the very rare and shy Pigmy Sperm Whale, occasional Killer Whales, pods of Spinner, Bottlenose, Risso's, and Fraser's Dolphins (sometimes in their hundreds), Pilot Whales and Pigmy Killer Whales.

During peak visitor season (July to August) warmer water brings more plankton, compromising visibility. At this time, sharks and other species are noticeably shy, tending to stay in deeper cooler water.

Rainy season is November through January. While visibility improves to 40m shortly after raining, it can fall to 12m. The best conditions for diving are from September to June, while best visibility is recorded from November until the end of January. Bunaken is open all year and there is a variety of accommodation available for divers either based within the reserve itself on Bunaken Island, or else back on the mainland.

Lembeh Strait

Directly across the isthmus of northern Sulawesi is the Lembeh Straits, Manado's other year-round destination. Characterised by lonely, jungle-clad shores, these straits are known as a top macro-photography destination, reachable by boat from Bunaken, and offering accommodation right on the coast of the straits. Often running strong currentsgenerated by the crosswaters of the Moluccan Sea and the Sulawesi Sea, the Lembeh Straits are rightfully world-renowned for the diversity of unusual critters, sponges, corals and featherstars seen here. Other notable divers's favourites here are Pygmy Seahorse, frogfish, crocodile fish, scorpionfish, stargazers, leaf fish, Mimic Octopus, and gardens of Ribbon Eels competing with a variety of camouflaged shrimps, numerous crab species, molluscs and nudibranchs.

For advanced divers the straits are also attractive for their WW2 shipwrecks and periods of strong current, which see the tree corals blossom into vivid colour. The Bangka Archipelago, with its drop-offs, slopes and pinnacles, is also reached from the Lembeh Straits.

A remote liveaboard destination, accessible between February and the end of October, the 40 or so islands of the Sangihe-Talaud Archipelago, stepping across the sea between Indonesia and The Philippines, lie northeast of Manado. Known as the "Ring Of Fire" because of its many volcanoes, it is regarded as one of the most scenic regions in all of Indonesia. Its marine riches are due to the underwater topography of the region. Volcanic activity and deep sea currents combine to bring nutrients to the surface. The deep oceanic trenches rise steeply in places, forming volcanic islands. Several of these are still active, including an underwater volcano on Mahengetang, near Siau, which can be dived. At Ruang though, a black lava flow running from crater to sea depths has created a perfect substrate for new corals and sponges, generating abundant other reef life, notably large Basket Stars and other invertebrates.

Gangga and Bangka Archipelago

The small island of Gangga offers a unique opportunity to dive some of the finest Indo Pacific dive sites. Located at the conjunction of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with more than 30 world class diving locations, the island offers a wonderful variety of marine life. It is perfectly situated to access both the North Sulawesi coast and other islands like Lihaga, Tindila, Talisei and Bangka.

Gorontalo

Located on the mainland to the west of Bunaken and the Lembeh Strait, and facing south to the Togian Islands, Gorontalo provides world-class diving without the crowds. Divers here are unlikely to see anyone else in the water.

Dive sites in Gorontalo are located along the continental wall of Sulawesi. Since the wall is made from easily eroded limestone, its contours take on fantastic shapes. The reefs here face directly into ocean waters measuring several kilometers deep. Whale sharks, whales and dolphins, and translucent pelagic tunicates pass just off the wall. But boxer crabs, pygmy seahorses and  orangutan crabs thrive in the coral reefs.  Meanwhile Gorontalo’s hard coral communities are some of the best in the world and reefs are in pristine condition. Numerous new and endemic species are to be found here, including the cute Blue Belly Blenny, and only in Gorontalo can divers see Salvador Dali sponges. These giant sponges have surfaces covered with surreal carvings.

The strength of Gorontalo’s diving is in its variety. Pristine coral walls, multiple pinnacles, mysterious caverns, historical wrecks, submerged points and muck are all available. Over thirty named dive sites are found within a few minutes to an hour speed boat from Gorontalo City.

Sangihe-Talaud Archipelago

The Sangihe and Talaud Islands, extending northwards of Bangka towards the southern Philippines, are surrounded by deep, clear waters boasting abundant marine life. The islands are frequented by numerous species of Cetaceans such as Sperm Whales, Pilot Whales, Melon-headed Whales, a variety of species of dolphins, sometimes travelling in enormous pods, as well as other hunting pelagics such as hammerheads and Dog-tooth Tuna. The Sangihe-Talaud islands also has pristine fringing reefs with huge resident fish populations of sweetlips, snappers, Bumphead Parrotfish, unicornfish, fusiliers, bannerfish. surgeonfish, fusiliers, Pyramid Butterflyfish, etc. Pods of rare tropical Killer Whales are also sighted here.

The archipelago of Tukang Besi, or Wakatobi as it is more commonly known (an acronym formed from the names of the four main islands, Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomea and Binongko), is situated in the Banda Sea, and is without any doubt one of the best places to dive in the world... as the famous Marine Explorer, Jacques Cousteau, affirmed during his pioneering visit in the middle of the 80s.

Together with the multitude of smaller islands, Wakatobi consists of an intricate labyrinth of reefs that include everything that a diver desires: a true paradise of biodiversity.