The Bunaken National Marine Park was formally established in 1991 and is among the first of Indonesia's growing system of marine parks. The park covers a total surface area of 89,065 hectares, 97% of which is overlain by sparkling clear, warm tropical water. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen. Although each of these islands has a special character, it is the aquatic ecosystem that attracts most naturalists.

The waters of Bunaken National Marine Park are extremely deep (1566 m in Manado Bay), clear (up to 35-40 m visibility), refreshing in temperature (27-29 C) and harbor some of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Pick any of group of interest - corals, fish, echinoderms or sponges - and the number of families, genera or species is bound to be astonishingly high. For example, 7 of the 8 species of giant clams that occur in the world, occur in Bunaken. The park has around 70 genera of corals; compare this to a mere 10 in Hawaii. Although the exact number of fish species is unknown, it may be slightly higher than in the Philippines, where 2,500 species, or nearly 70% of all fish species known to the Indo-western Pacific, are found.

Oceanic currents may explain, in part, why Bunaken National Marine Park is such a treasure trove of biodiversity. Northeasternly currents generally sweep through the park but abundant counter currents and gyros related to lunar cycles are believed to be a trap for free swimming larvae. This is particularly true on the south side of the crescent-shaped Bunaken Island, lying in the heart of the park. A snorkler or diver in the vicinity of Lekuan or Fukui may spot over 33 species of butterfly fish and numerous types of groupers, damsels, wrasses and gobies. The gobies, smallish fish with bulging eyes and modified fins that allow them to attach to hard surfaces, are the most diverse but least known group of fish in the park.

The islands off the very north coast of Manado, which seem to form a kind of bridge with the very southernmost islands of the Philippines, are the group known as Sangihe & Talaud.

An archipelago of 77 islands, Sangihe & Talaud like most unspoiled areas is not easy to get to. A speedboat makes the journey from Manado in around six hours, stay overnight and go back the next day. The administrative capital and largest town is Tahuna on the island of Sangihe Besar. There are several hotels here offering basic but passable accommodation. In town, shop for the carved ebony wood for which the area is famous, as well as embroidered fabrics from the island of Batunderang. There’s also an interesting house of Dutch design and unknown age. If you have a couple of days and plenty of extra energy you could climb Gunung Awu the spectacular volcanic peak. First check in at the monitoring station at Tulusau, to make sure conditions are right. To the south of Sangihe Besar, the island of Siau has a glorious 1800m volcanic peak known locally as Gunung Api Siau. This volcano had a major explosion in 1974, which destroyed much of the infrastructure of the island. It can be climbed but should be approached with caution.

The region’s other main attractions are its completely unspoilt beaches of which there are many. Sangihe Talaud is also getting more and more popular with birdlovers. The islands are home to nine endemic species, and new ones are being discovered regularly.

The port town of Bitung with its fine natural harbour protected by the adjacent island of Lembeh is the centre for shipbuilding and maintenance as well as commercial fishing. Also, since the harbour in Manado silted up, large ships now all call into Bitung, including some of the magnificent passenger cruise-liners. The town itself has a quaint provincial charm and is distinguished by its 12m replica of the Eiffel Tower at one of the roundabout intersections leading into town. Apparently the unusual monument was built by a previous mayor who had studied in Paris in his earlier years, and was built as a testament of his love for the "City of Lights".

Take a boat ride across and down the Lembeh Strait and you’ll come across an equally odd and intriguing monument; the Trikora Monument. Constructed in the 70s this mammoth structure towering some 100 meters into the sky was built to celebrate the success of the Indonesian military’s campaign in Irian Jaya. With an enormous Monaslike tower flanked by two annexes which look something like robotic flowers in bloom, the inside wall which encircles the base of the monument shows scenes of recruiting soldiers and then sending them off to war.

Attached to the monument has been mounted an old DC3 aircraft that was used in the military campaign. A ladder on one side provides access inside where you can go and sit in the cockpit and live out your fantasy of being a fighter pilot – bring your own sound effects. This is a popular hangout for local kids.

You can’t mention Bitung and Lembeh without mentioning the diving in Lembeh Strait. Relatively unknown compared to Bunaken, Lembeh has fast developed a reputation as being the place for muck. That may sound disgusting but allow me to explain. The sheltered straits form a kind of bottleneck in the surrounding sea, which has led to an abundance of plankton. This siltybottomed strait therefore doesn’t have the same spectacular coral walls of Bunaken but it does mean that the conditions are just right for serious divers to see a menagery of weird and wonderful creatures up close that they rarely, if ever, get to see anywhere else. Creatures with weird descriptive names that conjure up all sorts of strange images are common here – the ornate ghost pipefish, neon coloured nudibranchs (a kind of seaslug), mimic octopuses and flamboyant cuttlefish, as well as the diminutive pygmy seahorse and the aptly named frogfish can all be seen hiding among the crevices of the Lembeh Strait. Several dive resorts have been built here and offers easy, direct access to Lembeh, without the need for the long boat ride from Manado for day-trippers.