With an exotic name like ‘Una Una’, your imagination needs little other prompting to conjure visions of a faraway paradise. The name not only sounds like a tropical cocktail but forces you to make a double kissing gesture to pronounce it right. [Oo-nah Oo-nah]. Yes I know you liked saying it again. But this is no easy place to arrive at. It requires planning and dedication to explore the vast reaches of what planet earth can offer the serious traveller.
So for those not seeking shortcuts, we’d like to introduce a place worth going. A micro archipelago in Central Sulawesi with the largest amount of preserved coral reefs in Indonesia. Tojo Una Una.
From Bali it’s a flight to Makassar - Palu - Ampana, then a five hour boat to the Togean Islands. Quite a mission, but one you won’t regret once your feet sink into the soft white sand and you look out at one of the best diving locations in the world.
This is also home to the famous Sea Gypsies. A village built over the reef where the people free dive for their food. They’ve evolved bigger lungs than normal and can stay underwater for up to five minutes in search of fish. You can visit their village for a day or even arrange to stay overnight to experience their way of life.
There are several small resorts and tour providers for diving, snorkeling and island hopping boat trips. This place is quite unique and that’s why we chose it as the first destination to be featured in our new segment we call ‘Beyond Bali’.
Indonesia has so much to explore but the information on how to get there is often scarce. So that’s why we, your friends at The Bali Bible are doing the hard work for you and will put together our recommendations for where you should visit next. Stay tuned for our weekly updates on the best new spots around the world’s largest archipelago.
