TOUR AROUND AMBON

An excellent harbour and strategic location have made Ambon the Moluccas' best known island. Paved roads reach most of important villages along the coast, and their paths unfold beautiful panoramas : steep mountains, curved bays and deep blue seas.

The mountains, volcanic island takes roughly the shape of a mitten, with the Hitu Peninsula defining the bulk of the territory and the much smaller Leitimur Peninsula sticking out like a thumb from its south coast.

The island has many beaches of clean sand, lapped by warm, transparent tropical waters. One of the most popular beaches is Netsepa, at Baguala, 17 kilometres from Ambon Town, just past Paso on Hitu's southeast coast. This is a favorite family picnic spot with a gently-sloping sea bottom and calm seas.

Futher along the coast the paved road to Tengah-Tengah makes a beautiful trip, revealing ocean panoramas of brilliant color. Past Tengah-Tengah, is Tulehu, the ferry landing for Saparua, Haruku, Seram and the other Lease Islands to the east. Five kilometres from Tulehu is the village of Waai, where sacred eels, the embodiment of ancestral spirits, are pampered and fed fresh chicken eggs.

Pomblo island (best reached by speedboat from Honimua), few kilometres off the northeast tip of Hitu, offers excellent snorkelling on beautiful shallow reefs. On the northeast coast, Satan's Cape is the best spot for scuba diving, with drof-off reefs, spectacular overhangs, caves and deep clefts.

On the Leitimur Peninsula, south of Ambon, the sandy beach at Amahusu, 7 kilometres from Ambon town, is the closest place for a quick dip. Namalatu beach 16 kilometres away on Leitimur's southern tip, attracts a large weekend crownd. The view from the cliff tops above nearby Latuhalat overlooks the white sandy beach with its fringing coral reefs.

The most pleasant trip out of Ambon is to the village of Soya Atas, perched 400 metres up the flank of Gunung Sirimau, with its pretty, little church faced by a raja's house filled with momentos from the days of past splendor. From a sacred site at the top of the hill, a stone throne faces a splendid panorama - Hitu's Mount Salahutu, the Lease Islands, Leitimur's southern coast and, sometimes in the far distance, Banda's Gunung Api volcano..