Maluku Islands

The Maluku Islands - formerly known as spice islands fully justify their name. Here, whole plantations grow cloves and plants that supply cinnamon and nutmeg, coconut and sag palm trees, peppers of any kind and species. All this grass abundance gave such a tasty name to the islands. True, on the maps such a name cannot be found, and not every travel agent will understand where the traveler wants to go. Today, this branch of paradise on Earth is better known as the Maluku Islands.

General information

The Maluku Islands include more than 1000 small land plots. They are located in the Pacific Ocean near New Guinea and belong to the state of Indonesia. Europeans discovered islands only in the 16th century. The Portuguese settled first here, who began trading in spices expensive in those days ( by the way, it is they who own the authorship of the poetic name ), then the territory became the property of the Netherlands. At the beginning of the 19th century, the lands were occupied by the British, during the Second World War they were captured by Japan.

This popularity of tiny territories is explained by the presence of wonderful seasonings, oil, gold and tin, which were kindly provided by land. By the way, the locals themselves translate the names of the islands as « Land of Kings ».

What to do

The Maluku Islands fully meet all the hopes of tourists. A very young resort provides surprisingly sparsely populated beaches with snow-white sand and azure water, framed in a charming frame of palm trees and an impeccable blue sky. The underwater world is striking in its luxurious beauty, accessible even to inexperienced divers. For those who do not want to dive deep under the thickness of the waves, underwater beauties will open even to divers with a mask. In addition to natural wonders, you can study sunken planes, boats, ships. True, ancient gallons with clads cannot be found here, ships damaged during the hostilities of 1941-1945 fell to the bottom.

Nature lovers are happy to walk along the thickets of tropical forests, watching the life of birds of paradise, climbing marshes, parrots and other exotic animals and birds.

Sights of the Maluku Islands

The Maluku Islands are notable for their amazing mix of cultures: folk customs have assimilated with Dutch, Portuguese, Indian customs for many years. Most clearly, such a mixture manifests itself in Ambron: the current provincial capital. Here you just need to see Fort Victoria, which has a Portuguese foundation and Dutch walls, the Sisalima Museum, which demonstrates the life of the population before the colonization, the village of Soya with the palace of local Raji and the ancient Dutch church, ancient villages, in which time seems to have slowed down its implacable run.

On the island of Seram, you should climb the highest mountain in the Binaiai region and look into the vents of the volcano. Ternate is a stronghold of Muslim culture, so here you should look into the Sultan's Palace and Orani Fort and marvel at the Gamalam volcano. On Tidor, travelers are waiting for the town of Soasya, which most resembles a charming, earthy village. And on the island of Buru are the national reserves of Masarate and Masbait.