Best dive sites in Komodo

When thinking about diving in Komodo National Park, you will imagine amazing diving sites with a marine life that couldn’t be described with words… and you wouldn’t be wrong! This Park, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, has it all!

Komodo has all you can imagine, with plenty of dive sites that will blow your mind. There are over 50 world class dive sites in Komodo National Park, each one of them with their own features, so whatever your choices are or if you want to be surprised, be sure you will end each dive with a smile on your face. Given the quality of each dive site, it is not easy to choose the best ones, however this is our list of the sites you shouldn’t miss while visiting the park:

Batu Bolong: it is known for being one of the most spectacular dive sites in Komodo National Park. This site is an exposed rock pinnacle, exposed to strong currents. The top of the rock rises out of the ocean and it is enough to provide a protected lee. The top of the Batu Bolong reef is covered with colourful hard corals, whilst the walls and slopes are covered by large sponges. Batu Bolong ensure an awesome volume of fish, so the marine life you can find in here is endless and mind-blowing, you will see reef fish, white tip sharks, napoleons, dogtooth tuna, turtles, schools of fusiliers and surgeons, giant sweetlips and hundreds of fish. The great macro can be spotted at this site too, being perfect for photographers. Some species you will see are: pygmy seahorses, crazy nudibranchs, tiny orangutan crabs and more.

Tatawa Kecil: it is a popular and stunning dive site, offering intriguing rock formations, caves, swim throughs, boulders, drop offs, and a massive field with huge and vibrant coral gardens. The topography of the site differs greatly from other ones, it is one of the most fascinating and unique in the park. Due to the strong currents you may experience, it is recommended only for experienced divers, however, the challenge is totally worth it. It has almost anything a diver can hope to see, both big and small, an enjoyable dive is guaranteed. Some examples of what you can find are: many eagle rays, giant trevallies, sharks, large groupers, sea snakes, bluefin trevallies, fusiliers, hawksbill turtles, dogtooth tuna, giant tuna, barracudas, moray eels and napoleon wrasse and in the walls small invertebrates and nudibranchs that will catch your attention.

Manta Alley: Manta Alley is one of the most iconic sites in Komodo National Park, it is the best place to dive with Manta Rays. Manta Alley consists of a series of small rocky islands a few hundred meters away from the main island. There are several spots around these rocks where mantas can be found almost all year round. The site starts in a shallow reef close to the shore, where you can expect a strong to mild drift dive. Manta Alley dive site is over a stunning and pristine coral reef, where you have the chance to dive with many mantas in one dive, you can spot more than 30 on a single dive. Manta Alley it is also full of marine life including reef sharks, schools of fusiliers, schools of trevallies, triggerfish, and large wrasses.

Manta Point - Makassar Reef:  As Manta Alley, is another site where you will feel blessed to be surrounded by this majestic species. Makassar Reef is the longest dive site in the park with more than 2,5 km long. It is a shallow drift dive to see Manta Rays at their cleaning stations. It is commonly dived between 6 to 12 meters, which makes it also a very popular and excellent place to go snorkeling in Komodo National Park. Mantas go closer to the sea surface to feed and closer to the sea bed to be cleaned, that is the reason why mantas can be seen at any depth and at any time in this extraordinary site. There can be as many as 40-50 mantas together here. In addition to this splendid display, you may also find turtles, bamboo sharks, black tips reef sharks, eagle rays, bumphead parrotfish, giant trevallies, huge clams, various kind of sponges, cuttlefish and yellow butterfly fishes and moon wrasses which are the primary cleaner fishes. And don’t forget to look around for macro life, as you can see some incredible nudibranchs and other macro, this is actually one of the best dive sites for spotting blue ring octopus.

Yellow Wall: It is probably the best wall dive in the whole Komodo archipelago. The name of the site is after the cute little sea cucumbers that look like hundreds of bright yellow nudibranchs. This beautiful wall starts at 5 meters and goes down for more than 30 meters, but there is no need to go that deep, since most of the interesting marine life is at shallower depths. This means Yellow Wall can be dived both, deep and shallow, making it also a great spot for snorkeling. The site has a mild current. In Yellow Wall you will find an incredible invertebrate diversity, especially during a night dive. The walls are packed with a magnificent array of marine life and colors. The abundant variety of sponges and pristine corals are the perfect place for finding all the colorful reef fish of this region. Sometimes some larger pelagic passes near the wall and also many schools of small reef fish. Going down the wall, divers will find some triggerfish, butterfly fish and angelfish, as well as bigger marine species, such as green sea turtles, red snappers, and some of whitetip sharks.

The Cauldron: it is very popular drift dive, with changing topography, in Komodo National Park. This site offers a great opportunity to watch the predator/prey action: as schools of smaller fish are threatened by reefs sharks and other larger pelagic species. It is another dive suitable for expert divers, due to the strong currents. The dive is usually done as a drift dive along the channel and going through the Cauldron. You will experience the exhilarating current that rockets divers through part of the dive site. The site sits in a channel between two islands. You’ll begin on a coral reef and move with the current into a sandy bowl, called the cauldron. The exit from the cauldron is done through a small gap on the wall, and as you get close to it, the current will pull you through the channel and you will be out on the other side.

Castle Rock: it is another Komodo highlight. It is a huge underwater pinnacle, with its top at 4 meters under the surface, which stretches down to below 30 meters, covered in coral and reef fish. The current can be very strong at this site, but this doesn’t affect the visibility, which is excellent. You can see pretty much everything in Castle Rock, there is huge variety of fish species, such as grey reef sharks, white tip and black tip sharks, eagle rays, schools of tuna and barracudas, giant trevallies, groupers, giant jacks, wrasse, manta rays, the occasional dolphin and many more. Not only that, as the current is generally much stronger at the surface than in the deeper waters, you will see a splendid macro life as well.

Crystal Rock: it is another remarkable dive site in Komodo National Park. Crystal Rock is subject to strong currents and you will always find some action while diving in here. This dive site is recommended for experienced divers. Crystal Rock is a seamount in open water, covered by soft corals, sponges and beautiful gorgonians, that becomes exposed at low tide making the tip of the pinnacle visible from the surface. This site has very clear water with crystal clear visibility. You will see some grey reefs sharks, white tip and black tips sharks, as well as schools of bat fish, giant trevallies, schools of tuna, eagle rays, snappers, huge schools of fusiliers, napoleon wrasse, groupers, angel fish, parrotfish, thousands of anthias, schools of yellow-ribbon sweetlips and may more. Although currents can be pretty strong, you can drift around to the protected lee, where you will see some beautiful coral gardens, rich in fan corals with tiny pigmy seahorses hiding, together with some octopuses, numerous interesting nudibranchs, small crabs and shrimps. Crystal Rock is a great macro dive compared to Komodo’s other dive sites.

As you can see, Komodo National Park has an enormous diversity, for every taste and every level, so don’t wait any longer and come and join us and enjoy this one in life time experience!