Tanjung Gelam
Boulders and sand.
Chafidwahyu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chafidwahyu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chafidwahyu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Intanmaa — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Burhan Herjah — CC BY-SA 4.0
Karimunjawa is an archipelago of 27 islands in the Java Sea, Indonesia, about 89 km northwest of Jepara and 128 km north of Semarang in a straight line. Its land area is 45.6 square kilometres, the largest islands being Karimun and then Kemujan. About 11,000 people live on five of the islands, mostly Javanese with pockets of Bugis and Madurese, and these are the only islands off Java where Javanese is the common language. In 2001 twenty-two of the islands became a national marine park, one of six in Indonesia, where sea turtles lay their eggs. White sand and palms line the beaches, the water shading from shallow turquoise to blue, with grey granite boulders scattered on shores such as Tanjung Gelam. Underwater, colourful coral reefs shelter clownfish among sea anemones. Visitors arrive by ferry or fast boat from Jepara, or by plane from Semarang, and hire boats for island-hopping and snorkelling trips. They walk the mangrove boardwalks and watch the sunset from the west-facing beaches; the sea is calmest in the dry season.
Boulders and sand.
Clownfish.
Boardwalks.
Karimunjawa, Jepara, Central Java, Indonesia
By ferry from Jepara or plane from Semarang.
The dry season, April to October.