Wayag Islands

Wayag is the most spectacular of all Raja Ampat's landscapes: a tight cluster of mushroom-shaped karst islands rising from a shallow lagoon of impossible blue-green water. From the viewpoint at the top of the central hill — a 30-minute scramble up a fixed rope — the panorama takes in dozens of these islands in every direction, with deeper blue ocean beyond. It is one of the great views in Southeast Asia.

The lagoon itself is also excellent for snorkelling. The shallow reef between the islands supports wobbegongs, reef sharks, sea turtles, and vast schools of smaller fish. Wayag is about 4–6 hours by boat from Waisai, which makes it a full-day or overnight trip; many liveaboard itineraries include it as a north-point destination.

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A story
Wayag has been inhabited by the Papuan seafarers of the Raja Ampat Regency for centuries, but it was virtually unknown outside Indonesia until 2007, when a National Geographic photographer arrived with a drone. The images — dozens of mushroom-shaped islands floating in a turquoise lagoon, photographed from the viewing hill — were shared globally, and within a few years Wayag had become one of the most recognised landscapes in Southeast Asia.