Scuba diving off Indonesian Kalimantan may not be well known but it is fantastic. Part of the island of Borneo, this area is home to one of the regions richest and most biodiverse marine environments, the Derawan Island chain.

Stretching along the coast opposite the Berau River delta, marine surveys have concluded this area had the world’s second highest hard coral diversity (after the Raja Ampat Islands) and was submitted to the World Heritage Organisation for consideration as a site of special interest.

The best known islands for scuba diving include Sangalaki, the largest Indonesian nesting site for green turtles and with a resident manta population; Derawan, known for a high level of critters; Kakaban, the world’s largest and most diverse jellyfish lake, with four unique stingless species and the largest island in the group, Maratua, which sees large populations of pelagic species like barracuda, turtles and thresher sharks.