Cities
Get in
There are daily flights from Jakarta to Ambon, via Makassar or Surabaya. Alternatively there are boats from various parts of Indonesia. Schedules change frequently, but any travel agent in Jakarta or a major Indonesian city can arrange this.
Get around
Bemos and some buses around the island, and becaks for shorter distances.
See
Siwa Lima Museum ,
Commonwealth war graves ,
Namalatu beach area ,
Pintu Kota ,
Waii eels
Sleep
Mutiara Hotel, Jl Raya Pattimura, Ambon City .
Stay safe
Ambon has been wracked by ethnic and religious violence since 1999. While tensions between the main Muslim and Christian factions have been slowly waning, there were still scuffles in spring 2004 and caution is advised. In 2007 there were minor bomb blasts in March and April.
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of 775 km² (300 sq mi.), and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile.
Ambon City
The main city and seaport is Ambon City (1990 pop. 275,888), which is also the capital of Maluku province. Ambon City has an airport, and is home to the Pattimura University, a state university, and few private universities.
Geography
Ambon Island lies off the south-west coast of the much larger Seram island. It is on the north side of the Banda Sea, part of a chain of volcanic isles that form a circle around the sea. It is 51 km (32 miles) in length, and is of very irregular shape, being almost divided into two. The south-eastern and smaller portion, a peninsula (called Leitimor) is united to the northern (Hitoe) by a narrow neck of land. Ambon City lies on the north-west of Leitimor, facing Hitoe, and has a safe harbor on Amboyna Bay.
The highest mountains, Wawani (1100 m/3609 ft) and Salahutu (1225 m/4020 ft.), have hot springs and solfataras. They are volcanoes, and the mountains of the neighboring Uliasser islands, extinct volcanoes. Granite and serpentine rocks predominate, but the shores of Amboyna Bay are of chalk, and contain stalactite caves.
Wild areas of Ambon Island are covered by tropical rainforest, part of the Seram rain forests ecoregion, together with neighboring Seram. Seram, Ambon, and most of Maluku are part of Wallacea, the group of Indonesian islands that are separated by deep water from both the Asian and Australian continents, and have never been linked to the continents by land.
As a result of this isolation, Ambon has few indigenous mammals; birds are more abundant. The insect diversity of the island, however, is rich, particularly in butterflies. Seashells are obtained in great numbers and variety. Tortoise-shell is also exported.
Climate
The average temperature is 80 F., rarely sinking below 72. Rainfall can be heavy, especially after the eastern monsoons, and the island is vulnerable to violent typhoons. The dry season (October to April) is coincident with the period of the west monsoon.
Economy
Cassava and sago are the chief crops, which also include breadfruit, sugarcane, coffee, cocoa, pepper and cotton. and hunting...
