Wakatobi Wave 2016

Following the success of the Barata Kaledupa Festival in September and Tomia Island Festival in November, This December, the spotlight will again turn to the mesmerizing beauty of Wakatobi islands in Southeast Sulawesi Province when the annual Wakatobi Wonderful Festival and Expo or more familiarly known as Wakatobi Wave 2016 gets underway on 15th to 18th December 2016. The event will be centered at Wangi-wangi Island, one of the main islands of Wakatobi which in fact, is the abbreviation of the 4 names of the main islands: Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko.

This is the perfect occasion to explore all the fascinating wonders of the islands where one can enjoy various traditional dances, music, and art performances as well as folk games, carnival, traditional culinary fiesta, and a whole lot more.

As in previous years, the festival will be highlighted with the traditional boat race, boat mast climbing, fishing, inland and underwater photography competitions and a beachside triathlon. Visitors will also be presented with fascinating marine cultural attractions including the grand cultural presentation of the Karia’a Parade featuring children wearing colorful traditional dresses and girls wearing headdresses with flowers and golden accessories as well as the Tamburu Liya, a heroic sacred parade performed by 15 honored elders from Liya using spears and drums.

Located right in the heart of the Asia-Pacific Coral Triangle in the province of South East Sulawesi, the Wakatobi Islands offer crystal clear pristine waters and a rich bio-diverse underwater life: a true paradise for Divers. Wakatobi is widely recognized as having the highest number of reefs and fish species in the world.

The Wakatobi islands are also famous as the largest barrier reef in Indonesia, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Here can be found fringing, atolls and barrier reefs besides offering more than 50 divespots easily accessible from the major islands. This is a haven for large and small fish species, the playground of dolphins, turtles and even whales. Wakatobi alone is said to have 942 fish species and 750 coral reef species from a total of 850 in world's collection, which, when comparing to the two world's famous diving centers, the Caribbean Sea counts 50 species, with  the Red Sea in Egypt owning 300 coral reef species.

Wings Air serves daily flights from Makassar to Wakatobi Airport in Wangi-wangi Island. The flights leave every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday morning at 08:10 AM and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 10:00 AM. Starting 1 December Wings Air will start a second daily flight. Garuda Indonesia also operates flights from Jakarta to Wakatobi.

More Information available at: http://www.wakatobitourism.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/visitwakatobi/