The
National Park Taka Bone Rata, located 250km south of Makassar,
Sulawesi, is dominated by see pines, coral reef and palm trees. It is
the third largest atoll in the world after Kwajifein on the Marshall
Islands and Suvadiva in the Maledives. The atoll has a overall size of
220.000 hectare of which 50.000 hectare is made of coral reef.The area is unique since the 20 small islands in the atoll are made by the coral reef. Of the 20 islands of the atoll only 6 are inhabited and 15 can be used for diving. The park is perfect for marine activities like snorkeling and diving with small ponds surrounded by corral (especially at low tide) and deep straits between the islands.
The national park is considered to contain some of the world's highest marine biodiversity with 261 species of coral, 295 species of fish and 244 species of mollusks and several turtles, including the Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and Pacific Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) .