Saronde Island is an island in the

Celebes Sea The Celebes Sea, (; ms, Laut Sulawesi, id, Laut Sulawesi, fil, Dagat Selebes) or Sulawesi Sea, of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by ...

, within the Ponelo Islands District ('' Ponelo Kepulauan'') of North Gorontalo Regency, in Gorontalo Province,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Location

Saronde Island lies on North Gorontalo Regency - Northern part of

Gorontalo Gorontalo (Gorontalo language, Gorontaloan: ''Hulontalo'') is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi. Located on the Minahasa Peninsula, Gorontalo was formerly part of the province of North Sulawesi until its ...

Province - Indonesia, or 400 km west side

Manado Manado () is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distribu ...

City - Indonesia. This island can be reach in 40 minutes from Gorontalo Airport, or 120 minutes from Gorontalo City. Saronde Island is known for its large white sandy beach, and its calm water.

Natural Life

The island has an area of 8 hectares, 20% of which consists of flat sandy land, the rest consists of hill and forest. Thousands of birds use Saronde's forest as their home. Hundreds of

pied imperial pigeon The pied imperial pigeon (''Ducula bicolor'') is a relatively large, pied species of pigeon. It is found in forest, woodland, mangrove, plantations and scrub in Southeast Asia, ranging from Myanmar and Thailand, throughout Indonesia and east to t ...

(''Ducula bicolor'') nest in Saronde's top hill forest. At the northern part of Saronde, we can find a vast array of ancient

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

stone... probably constructed when there were a giant earthquake thousands years ago that formed this island. The underwater life in Saronde is quite rich. All the corals and marine life have a similarity with

Bunaken National Park Bunaken National Park is a marine park in the north of Sulawesi island, Indonesia. The park is located near the centre of the Coral Triangle, providing habitat to 390 species of coral as well as many fish, mollusc, reptile and marine mammal spec ...

in Manado. There are

whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, D ...

(''Rhincodon typus'') appearances once in a while. Other interesting animals like

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...

(''Physeter macrocephalus''),

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

(''Dugong dugon''), and large

stingray Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ( ...

(''Dasyatis pastinaca'') were reported hanging around Saronde island by local fisherman. Cassis cornuta also appears frequently in large amounts along Bogisa beach, 300 m on northern Saronde Island. Saronde Island 30.jpg, School of fish Saronde Island 31.jpg, Underwater view Saronde Island 9.jpg, Coral reef near Saronde Saronde Island 34.jpg, Turtle Conservation

Tourism

Saronde Island right now is one of the most popular tourism spots in

Province. More than 16,000 tourists visited this island in 2016, of which more than 1,000 were foreigners. Most of the tourists had a single-day visiting activity, but some of them were staying in one of 9 cottages built on the island. For business gathering, this island had a small meeting room to accept 40-60 guests. Saronde Island 5.jpg, Cottage Saronde Island 6.jpg, Floating dock Saronde Island 7.jpg, Restaurant Saronde Island 8.jpg, From far away

Island hopping

There are three other islands around Saronde, namely Bogisa, Mohinggito and Lampu island. Bogisa Island (9 hectares) has an elongated white sand beach, hills and forest with Saronde-like vegetation. Mohinggito Island (30 hectares) is a marine conservation area that has a wide bay and is commonly used as a conscious mooring place for yachts visiting Saronde. Lampu Island (6 hectares) has a white sand beaches like Saronde. This island has flare lights and a government guardhouse. These islands are commonly visited by tourists and have become a package with Saronde tour visits.

References

{{reflist Islands of Indonesia Gorontalo (province)