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11. Tatawa Besar
Starting at the northwestern tip of tatawa there is a good drift dive down the western side of Tatawa in about 15 to 20 meters of water. Good reef fish life and an endless field of orange soft corals. Mantas are often seen in this area also. It is also possible to drift down the north coast of tatawa from the same entry point.This is a similar dive. Tatawa Besar is a good option if the current is to strong to dive Tatawa Kecil or Batu Bolong.
12. Batu Tiga
Batu tiga is without a doubt one of the most current affected sites in Komodo. Situated southeast of Tanjung Kuning in Linta strait. Batu Tiga is an excellent big fish dive when you can get on it. The best place to enter is at the north western side of the tree rocks A rocky reef extends below the surface out towards Komodo. Down in the deeper water to the west and below the reef Big Boulders offer excellent habitat for grouper and other creatures. Large grouper, mantas, giant trivially and other pelagic are frequently seen here ... most of the coral growth is stunted as a result of the strong currents that prevail.
13. Pantai Merah / Pink Beach
This is the most frequently visited site in the park Snorkeling is excellent from the beach and there is a very good dive in a small area around a rock that breaks the surface but is completly covered at high tide There as a great variety of tame fish life here and also a good selection of critters such as leaf scorpion fish, Blueribbon eels, crocodile fish, nudibranchs and more. This site is also a very good night dive visibility varies and is best during a ebbing tide.
14. Loh Namu
The Peninsula of Loh Namu offers an interesting dive for those who are into large groupers and napoleon wrasse. Dive around this point from south to north, at a depth of some 28 in and always just before high tide. Almost guaranteed to see some big ones! Most of the fish are found near the southern comer where some large boulders are spread out over the drop-off and a few caves offer additional hiding places. We have seen some of the largest coral trout here, hanging out side by side with malabar groupers and huge male Napoleon wrasse which may be aggregating here to spawn. You may also find a giant gigas clam at 8 meters depth.
15. Indihiang
Close to Loh Liang this small island with steeply dropping walls is an ideal location for divers starting from Komodo Island. Many big fish and good corals can be seen when drift-diving along the steep walls. The best time to dive here is at the end of the falling tide when the current has slowed down and we can easily drift along the eastern wall from north to south. Top attractions include potato cod, large napoleon wrasse and schools of giant trevallies and snappers. This dive has to be planned around slack tide to avoid excessive currents.
16. Pilaarsteen
Pilaarsteen is a pinacle rock on the shore of a small island east of Padar Besar. Its best to enter just off the point below the rock where there is a nice wall then swim to the west where you will find an interesting dive through lots of caves and swimthroughs at different depths. It is particularly good at around 30-40 meters. This Dive is still quite good when other places have too much current. It can be affected by surge when a swell is running from the southwest. Large schools of fusiliers can be found here along a slope which is covered by an interesting variety of soft and leather corals. The landscape is really interesting and its not unusual to encounter sharks and the odd turtle.
17. Three Sisters / Tiga Dara
Three Sisters is a site north of pillarstien. There are 3,quite large submerged rocks within easy swimming distance of each other, each rock is only about 10 meters apart. They are sitting on the sand in about 20 meters of water and rise 3 to 5meters from the surface. It is a very prestine site covered in coral growth and rich in fishlife The site can be hard to find as its not marked on any charts and the rocks lay just below the surface. The rocks run in a line towads the easts about 100 meters from a small reef that juts out on the eastern side of the island. It is often current affected but ususlly always diveable if you are one of few divers in this world that still don't mind having to swim. If you are adventurous there is actually a fourth sister located further to the west that starts in about 20 meters of water and drops down to 40 with some impressive fans and good life on it..
18. Payung
The southern and western side side of Payung island (east of padar) offers a very interesting underwater landscape, with huge rocks that almost give the impression of a wreck dive. At the southern tip, at 5 m depth, you will find a rock in the shape of a cannon. There are lots of canyons and crevices to explore, and the fish and invertebrate life is diverse and abundant. There are big schools of surgeons and smaller yellow snappers (Lutjanus kasmira) and (L. quinquelineatus). Typical for dive sites in the southern part of the park visibility is not very good (5-10 meters), the water is cooler, and the rocks are covered with soft coral, gorgonians, and feather stars. This site should be dived at slack-tide, preferably a slack of low tide. Two dives possible, one descending at the north western tip (near the rocks that almost break the surface) then dive with the slope on your left (15-30 meters), turn around at the southern most end of the island and work your way back at 10 in depth. The second dive starts at the southeastern side, around the southern tip of the island (20-35 meteres depth), then back at 5-15 meters depth.
19. Nusa Kode
The south western tip of Kode island is characterized by large encrusted holders with little corals and huge groupers. Very large fish are never really plentiful, but among the boulders you have a chance of seeing some of the largest fish on the reef such as the giant grouper, the potato cod and the malabar grouper. Schools of bohar snapper may be there at all the time as well.
20. Canibal Rock / Batu Buas
Canibal Rock is a small seamount in Loh Dasami bay, between Rinca and Nusa Kode island, is famous for it's invertebrate life and it is a very easy dive with little current. You can find many different species of invertebrates here as well as pigmy seahorses and frogfish. The fish life can also be quite good at times, with schools of bohar snappers, surgeon fishes and quite a few species scorpion fishes .Softcoral life is excellent and very colourful Sea apples and many other species of holothurians are abundant. Unusual nubibranchs, fire urchins host to colemanshrimp and much more |
