The municipalities in Banda islands are the group of 13 small islands, which emerged from the depth of Banda sea. These Islands are located in the Southeast of Ambon island, where the city of Ambon is also located, the capital of Maluku province, one of the provinces in East Indonesian region. These islands can be reached in 8 hours from Ambon by Rinjani ship, a public ship belonged to PT. Pelni. These islands can also be reached by plane in less than 60 minutes straight from Ambon or about 70 minutes with the route through Amahai in Seram island, by Cassa airplane. The special things that these islands have are the clear water, the beautiful sea world, the national and international cultural inheritance, the various cultures, and the quiet nature. All of this makes the visitors' vacation become an incredible and unbelievable experience, and far from the noise and the business of town. This place is worth visiting and you can experience the beauty of this spice island, like a heaven on earth and the only one which has the atmosphere of the 17th century.

General Information

Banda archipelago consists of 13 islands, those are: Naira (usually known as Banda Naira), Banda Besar (Lonthoir), Run, Ay, Rozengain (or Hatta), Pisang (or Syahrir), Gunung Api island, Batu Kapal, Manuk, Karaka, Nailaka, Manukang, and Hatta Reef. All of this islands make an area of 44 sq km, with Naira as the sub district capital. The people's jobs are as farmers and sailors, and they sell their crops and fish in Naira, and if there are ships harbouring at piers.
The main products are: banana, pineapple, coconuts, pepper, and fuli, tuber, salty fist/ dried fish typical of Banda (Cakalang Banda).
Pulau Naira is the sub district capital of Banda archipelago and also is the main city in Banda. It has an airport, an harbor, market, a lot of accommodation including restaurants, and governmental offices.
Naira city was built by the Portuguese in the early of 1500's, and about a century after that was built by the Dutch. At the time of the Dutch colony, de "Klein Europeesch Stad" (Little European Town), Naira began to be known. Fortresses, pepper plantation, Dutch houses, and the residents of the supervisors and the first VOC General Governor (Vereenigde Oost Indiesche Companie) were built. Nowadays, the ruins of those buildings have become the mute witness which is very valuable from the spices trade, and has changed the world history.
The term "Perkenier" came from the Dutch word "perk" which is means garden. When the Dutch still conquered Indonesia, the VOC brought Dutch farmers to Banda to watch all of the pepper gardens. Each farmer was given some land which was called "perk" or "perken". This little landlords had become very famous in Dutch history and also in Banda history as "perkeniers" and their job is to manage and watch the pepper plantation at that time. The perken/ plantation is still existed in Banda, but most of them are now managed by the Government institution (P.D. Pala Banda).

The history of Banda

Some centuries ago, long before the coming of the European to Banda, these islands were the main source of pepper and fuli which were fought for by the nations in the world. On that era, these spices were brought by the Malayan merchant, Chinese merchant, and Arabic merchant, then shipped to Persian peninsula and by the merchant then were continued to Mediteranian/ Middle sea to be spread to all Europe through Constantinople, Genoa, and Venesia. Everytime these spices were moving from different hands, the prices became higher.
The European merchants were trying to look for the source area for these spices and they were competing to get and conquer these precious spices trade, which was then strengthened by the building of the fortresses and buildings in all Banda archipelago. These things could be seen from the ruins of the fortresses and buildings in Banda archipelago, with Naira as the oldest neighborhood in the East.
During the conflict of Indonesian-Dutch, Banda archipelago was used as the disposal place for national political prisoners and the national Indonesian heroes like: Dr. Moh. Hatta, St. Syahrir, F.Iwakusuma Sumantri, and Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo. Their houses are now being renovated and used as the museum. This spice island has become an interesting tourism destination.

Climate

The climate in Banda archipelago and around is the tropical aquatic climate with the average temperature between 25-26°C. The weather is influenced by the depth of Banda ocean and small islands which cause the weather become cooler. The dry season in Banda starts from August until November. The west wind blows from November until the middle of March while the east wind blows from March to October. The rainy season in Banda starts around May until September. The right time to travel to Banda is on October, November until early December. On those time, the ocean is very calm and very fun to be sailed.