Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau. Located off the northwest tip of Bird’s Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia’s West Papua province, the Raja Ampat archipelago is the part of Coral Triangle which contains the richest marine biodiversity on earth.

Wetpixel visited the area in September 2016, aboard the wonderful Damai 1, We ran two back-to-back trips. The first itinerary embarked at Biak and started with the whale sharks in Cendrawasih Bay, then spent a couple of days diving the area before heading towards the northern of the marine park (mainly Kri and Mansuar), before disembarking at Sorong. The second trip took in the north of Raja, and going to places like Waigeo, The Passage and Ed’s Black Forest, before heading on down to Misool and to dive the south of Raja Ampat, including the amazing Magic Mountain.

The following amazing images were captured by the participants during the trips. Many thanks to them and also to the staff and crew of Damai 1 for an unforgettable photographic adventure.