The Forts of Banda Neira

The Banda Islands are a scatter of small volcanic islands deep in the Moluccas, and for a long period they were the only place in the world where nutmeg grew. The forts above the harbour of Banda Neira were built to control that trade. Fort Belgica is the striking one, a five-sided stone work with round bastions on a hill above the town, restored in the 1990s, looking across the strait to the cone of Gunung Api. Fort Nassau sits on the flat ground below, largely ruined and overgrown. Between them the town keeps its old street plan, with merchants' houses under columned porches, an old church and lanes of nutmeg drying racks.

What you actually see

• Fort Belgica - the pentagonal fort and its bastion walk above the harbour.
• Fort Nassau - the overgrown ruin on the flat ground below.
• The merchants' houses - columned mansions along the old streets of Neira.
• Nutmeg groves - shaded plantations and drying racks across the islands.

When to go

The seas around Banda are roughest in the middle of the year, when strong winds can stop boats for days; the calmer, clearer windows are roughly September to November and March to May, which also suit diving and snorkelling. Flights are small, infrequent and often cancelled, so build slack into any plan and avoid booking a tight onward connection.

Honest expectations

Getting here is the hard part: flights from Ambon are infrequent and weather-dependent, and the ferry takes most of a day and does not run daily. Accommodation is simple, power can be intermittent and cash machines are unreliable, so bring money from Ambon. The forts themselves take a couple of hours, and the islands rather than the walls are the reason to come.

Nearby

The volcano Gunung Api can be climbed from the harbour; the reef walls around the islands are the main draw for divers.