Ambon is the largest city in Maluku and the capital of South Maluku province, situated on the island of the same name in eastern Indonesia. Its transport connections — a busy airport, regular ferries, and fast boat services — make it the natural gateway to the wider Maluku archipelago.
The city itself has few grand sights, but the island surrounding it has considerable appeal: colonial Dutch forts, world-class diving waters, and quiet villages with strong spice-trade histories. Ambon was one of the most bitterly contested prizes of the 17th-century spice trade — the Dutch massacred English merchants here in 1623 and held the clove and nutmeg monopoly for over a century. Fort Victoria in the city centre survives from that era, and the Museum Siwalima on a hill above the bay collects the region's ethnographic and natural history.
The waters around Ambon Bay are among the best muck diving destinations in the world. The Laha area on the bay's northern shore hosts an extraordinary density of rare and bizarre marine life — frogfish, rhinopias scorpionfish, blue-ringed octopus, and ghost pipefish attract underwater photographers from around the world. Natsepa Beach on the northern coast is the island's most popular beach, famous for its rujak fruit salad sellers and calm swimming water. The Martha Christina Tiahahu Monument on Karang Panjang hill offers the best sunset view over the city and bay.