North Sulawesi has earned the delightful moniker “Land of the Smiling People” for very appropriate reasons.  Part of the Sunda islands, situated between Borneo and the Maluka islands, Sulawesi is divided into six provinces, with North Sulawesi and its capital city Manado the best known to divers. 

The Bunaken National Marine Park is one of Indonesia’s first protected marine reserves and lies in the heart of the important Coral Triangle. North Sulawesi has a fine assortment of biodiversity featuring Asian and Australasian species.

There are literally hundreds of dive sites in the area of North Sulawesi. The area is a popular destination for eco-tourism and divers and filmmakers searching for a meaningful experience literally emerging themselves in the world’s most important marine ecosystem – the coral triangle.

Divers generally first set course for Bunaken National Marine Park with its fringe and barrier reef system, sheer cliff drop offs, and amazing array of marine life. But one of the unsung heroes of the area is the Lembeh Strait, and what is, according to many, some of the best muck and critter diving in the world – making Lembeh straight a photographer and filmmaker’s playground.

With over forty documented dive-sites, each featuring their own special attraction, divers could easily spend an entire season at the straits alone and never see the same sites twice.  Coveted by both wide-angle and micro enthusiasts, the variety of critters just waiting for their picture to be taken is astounding.Marine life such as baby watchers and spindle crowries to snapping crinoid shrimp and snow flake moray thrive in sites with colorful and friendly names like Hairball (choose 1,2 or 3), Magic Crack, Slow Poke, Critter Hunt, and California Dreaming.

Lembeh Strait is a virtually endless region of opportunity for underwater filmmakers and photographers to capture that perfect image.