Visiting Sorong: Amazing Journey Gateway to Raja Ampat

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Tourism of Indonesia

Visiting Sorong Amazing Journey Gateway to Raja Ampat

Visiting Sorong Amazing Journey Gateway to Raja Ampat

Ready to Go to Visiting Sorong: Gateway to Raja Ampat

Planning to go on a tour or travelling, we definitely want a smooth trip, comfortable accommodation, cheap hotels, good food, cheap plane tickets, close to everywhere, and can rent a motorbike or car.

Attraction

In Visiting Sorong: Gateway to Raja Ampat, there is natural beauty and unique culture of the local community. There are many uniqueness, starting from the village (desa), sub-district (kecamatan), district (kabupaten) and provincial levels.

In Indonesia, each province has different and interesting characteristics. Each province has a different and unique culture and lifestyle.

Origin and history of the word Sorong. The word “Sorong” is said to originate from the local Soreri language meaning “deep and turbulent seas”.  Mountains, hills, lowlands, and protected forests securely surround the town.

The city of Sorong is located on the “beak” of the Bird’s Head Peninsula in West Papua is the departure point for your visit to the fabulous Raja Ampat marine park.

As a port, its inhabitants come from multi-ethnic descent. Sorong has long been one of the busiest harbors of West Papua, owing to the oil supplies found in this region since 1932.

However, oil projects have declined significantly today. The productive oil fields off Sorong were one of the reasons why the former Dutch colonialists hung on to Irian (former name of Papua) even after the independence of the Indonesian archipelago.

It is not surprising that the town is multi-cultural. Today, oil is actually still the dominant industry here, although timber export comes second, with logs usually directly shipped overseas.

Nowadays, government regulations require that milling and processing take place locally. Therefore, plywood factories and such are being built in Sorong.

The government is taking good care of the preservation of nature and maintaining the condition of the forest.

The environment is also well maintained.

Activity

Visiting Visiting Sorong: Gateway to Raja Ampat, we will witness routine community activities in unique traditional cultures. And there are special dishes and food as part of culinary tours that are delicious and yummy.

In this place there are also regular events or activities held every year, both national and international.

The seas around Sorong are rich in tuna and shrimp, which are also major export commodities. On Kabra island, there is a Japanese farm for cultured pearls, while shark fins and trepang are shipped to Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.

Sorong, on a hill overlooking the town, is a war memorial to the Japanese dead, known as the Tugu Arfak. The complex includes an obelisk, a bronze Shinto deity and long, thin memorial plaques.

During World War II, American aircrafts bombed the airfield on Jefman Island, originally built by the Japanese. The airport has now been moved from Jefman Island to Sorong, and is called the Domine Eduard Osok, or better known as DEO airport.

To watch the birds of paradise and other endemic birds of Papua take a motorboat to Batanta Island, some three to four hours motoring.

For a better view of the fabulous bird of paradise (Cendrawasih), take a trip to Waigeo Island, some five to six hours by motorboat.

In Sawinggrai Village, for instance, you can observe four species of Cendrawasih. To stay overnight on Waigeo or Sawinggrai, you need to take your own tent or sleep in local huts.

Accessibility

The journey to Visiting Sorong: Gateway to Raja Ampat is now very easy. We can enter through various modes of transportation.

The condition of the infrastructure is getting better. Starting from highways, airports, trails, ports, bridges, stairs, even some places can be reached by toll roads.

Access to go to Sorong:

Although most of inter-island passenger and cargo traffic is by boat, there are a number of flights to Sorong. Batavia Air now operates B737-200 aircrafts between Jakarta and Makassar to Domine Eduard Osok (DEO) Airport at Sorong.

Another longer route will be via Manado, served by SilkAir from Singapore, Garuda Indonesia, Pelita Air and Merpati, then take a connection flight to Sorong.

In Sorong, there is another airport called Sorong Airport (SOQ), which is also called Jefman Airport, in addition to Domine Eduard Osok (DEO) Airport. The following is the flight alternatives that may suit your agenda: Denpasar – Makassar – Sorong:

  • Garuda flies several times daily from Denpasar to Makassar
  • Express Air (Flight XN 800) daily from Makassar to Sorong.
  • Merpati Airlines (Flight MZ 806) daily from Makassar to Sorong.

Sorong –Makassar/ Ambon – Denpasar

  • Express Air flies daily from Sorong to Makassar,
  • Merpati Airline flies daily from Sorong to Makassar.
  • Garuda  flies daily from Makassar to Denpasar.
  • Lion Air operates Sorong to Ambon., and from Ambon to Makassar, then from Makassar to Denpasar.

Manado – Sorong

  • Lion Air flies from Manado to Sorong.
  • Express Air flies from Mando to Sorong. Sorong – Manado is available from similar airlnes.

Jakarta – Sorong

  • Express Air flies daily from Jakarta to Sorong via Makassar.
  • Merpati Airlines flies daily from Jakarta to Sorong via Makassar.
  • Batavia Airlines flies from Jakarta to Sorong via Makassar.

When overnight transit in Makassar, it is recommended to stay at Hotel that it is close to the airport and easier to catch the next flight.

Schedules are subject to change and you are highly recommended to always double check available flights. However, do not worry about the trip to Sorong. There are plenty of air connections available:

  • There are 12 flights per week using small aircrafts from Sorong.
  • The smallest commercial aircraft flying out of Sorong is an ATR with 46 seats.
  • There are over 40 domestic flights per week from Sorong.
  • Sorong has 16 medium sized aircraft departing each week.
  • There are 8 nonstop flights per week departing from Sorong.
  • The shortest flight out of Sorong is 159 miles.
  • There are over 3 long haul flights per week from Sorong.
  • There are 4 airlines operating out of Sorong.

Compared to other cities in Indonesian Papua, Sorong is the fastest growing town. It is dynamic and tolerably safe. Getting around in Sorong is possible by taxi, chartered van, and also becak for shorter distances.

Angkot is also available and you are recommended to always make sure you know where you are going. Best ask the friendly staff at the hotel you are staying before traveling around town. If you cannot remember the number of the Angkot you are taking, take a note and ask around when possible.

We can visit by plane, car, ship, bus, motorcycle and bicycle. At some point, we can take the train. We can also walk freely.

Amenity

In Visiting Sorong: Gateway to Raja Ampat, as technology getting better. We can easily find locations for mini markets, shops (warung kedai), ATMs, Bank BRI BCA BNI Mandiri, BTPN Bank Nagari BJB, supermarkets, and restaurants. So we will not starve or lack the necessary items.

If you are sick and need help, you can also visit clinics, drugstore pharmacies (apotek), practice doctors, hospitals, health centers (puskesmas).

In this place we can also look for places of worship such as mosques, churches, and others.

Accommodation

Finding place to stay in Visiting Sorong: Gateway to Raja Ampat is very easy. We can stay at homestays, hotels, inns, hostels and other places.

To get lodging at a cheap and definitely comfortable price, please see below:
Booking.com

Experience and Reviews

There are already many visitors have visited Visiting Sorong: Gateway to Raja Ampat, there are many interesting stories that are told. Like feeling satisfied, happy, wanting to come again, sleep well, and almost no one is disappointed or complains to come here.

So, visitors will find out on how to find the best hotels, where is exactly located, why it is amazing, how much is the fare and rate, who are the people, whom to ask, and when is the best time to visit.

We can visit these tourist attractions from Tanjung Pinang, Tanjung Redep, Tanjung Selor, Tapak Tuan, Tarakan, Tarutung, Tasikmalaya, Muara Bungo, Muara Enim, Muara Teweh, Muaro Sijunjung, Muntilan, Nabire, Negara, Nganjuk,

That’s all the information we provided, hopefully useful.

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