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Diving in IndonesiaLure: Dive green and dive oftenLocation: Indonesia's Raja Ampat IslandsTiny Batbitim—part of a mostly uninhabited karst archipelago northwest of West Papua—is home to great schools of giant tuna and mobula rays hunting shimmering clouds of anchovies. "We hung in mid-water watching this spectacular dance unfold," Misool Eco Resort owner Andrew Miners says of his first dive there. "I realized that not only had I stumbled upon a place of spectacular beauty, but, aside from a few intrepid divers, I had arrived before anyone else."Miners decided this was the place for the land-based conservation project he’d been dreaming of. Working closely with elders from nearby villages, he leased Batbitim and established a 77-square-mile (199-square-kilometer) No-Take Zone where all fishing (including prevalent cyanide fishing, bombing, and shark finning) and harvesting of turtle eggs is prohibited. With the help of his wife, Marit, and local craftsmen, he designed 11 unobtrusive but stylish cottages using salvaged driftwood and native thatch, incorporating a dive resort into his mini-eco-paradise that’s committed to operating sustainably. Request one of the eight stilted structures hovering over the lagoon; they have built-in deck hammocks and are just a few kicks away from the house reef.Vitals: Misool Eco Resort, 12 nights, doubles from $3,110, including meals and ten dives; misoolecoresort.com—Text by Meg Lukens Noonan, originally published in the February 2009 National Geographic Adventure magazine. Prices updated June 2010.

Photograph courtesy Misool Resort

TRAVEL

Best Beach Adventures

See photos of beach adventures (including biking in Hawaii, diving in Thailand, and surfing in Micronesia) in this travel photo gallery from National Geographic.

July 8, 2010