Bunaken was first discovered in 1975 to now as a mainstay tourist in Manado. Originally a group of divers performed an expedition plan. Although there was a myth of the evil spirit who inhabit the place, the divers did not break. After making the divert of the divers finding natural beauty under the marine in the form of corals and rare fish. Since then the place is known as one of the favorite sights and dive places. To keep the central, the location was officially served as the National Park in 1991 and in 2005 Bunaken National Park entered into one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The old Manado area has actually been inhabited by the first population in 1400. Then in the 1850s, the population moved to Tanjung Parigi precisely toward Southeast southeast. The population gave the name of the area they live in as "Wunaken" because it is from the abbreviation of "Kinawungakeng". Afterwards, the name turned into a bunaken who has the meaning of landing from the boat.