Dive Sites of Komodo
Dragons and Fierce Currents
Komodo Island and national park reserve offers just about every type of tropical diving imaginable - from calm and colourful shallow reefs alive hundreds of colourful reef fishes and crammed with invertebrates, to current-swept deep water sea mounts, walls and pinnacles patrolled by sharks, tuna and other big fish.
 The variety of marine life in Komodo rivals the world's best diving destinations. This is the world's epicentre for marine diversity and you'll see loads of stuff here that you just won't see anywhere else in the world - From Whale Sharks, Sunfish, Mantas and Eagle Rays to Pymgy Seahorses, Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Clown Frogfish, Nudibranchs and Blue-ringed Octopus - all at home amongst a specatcular range of colourful sponges, sea squirts, tunicates and corals - a macro enthusiast's heaven.
Geologically, Komodo and Rinca are part of Flores, separated from Sumbawa to the west by the Sape Strait. In the middle of the strait, the bottom drops to almost 300m. The many islands and relatively shallow seas between Flores and Komodo's west coast mean very fast currents at tidal changes. There are deep seas both north and south and upwellings bring nutrients and plankton to keep the seas rich and well-fed.
Unlike other parts of Indonesia, the reefs around the south Komodo have suffered relatively little damage from dynamite fishing. Much of the area now lies within the protection of Komodo National Park. The shallow reefs between Flores and north Komodo however, have been extensively bombed and are in the process of slowly recovering. This damaged sector covers 15% of the Komodo Archipelago, and even here steep drop-offs and current-swept points offer good diving.
Komodo Island is also famous for the Komodo Dragon monitor lizard, the largest lizards in the world. An alert and agile predator and scavenger that can reach 2.5m in length and 125 kg, they are known locally as 'Ora' and now about 1,100 inhabit Komodo and about half that live on nearby Rinca island.
Diving Season
You can go Komodo scuba diving all year round. Overall, the best visibility is from November to January.
January to March can have rough surface conditions at the northern dive sites. July and August can have rough seas in the south and Rinca.
Liveaboard season runs all year round.
Komodo Diving Reef Basics
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 5 - 30m
Currents: Can be very strong - up to 8 knots
Surface Conditions: Can be rough
Water Temperature: 20 - 28°C
Experience Level: Intermediate - advanced
PADI Course Compatibility: Great for Underwater Photography and Videography
Distance: ~490 km east of Bali (24 hours)
Access: Komodo liveaboards from Bali
Dive Sites
More detailed information on the Komodo dive sites:
Dive The World Recommendations: GPS Point, Cannibal Rock and Pillarsteen.
Other dive sites that can be dived as part of a Komodo liveaboard diving cruise:
Use our short form to grab your options for
 Komodo diving liveaboards enquiries
Komodo tourist information
View map of Komodo
Back to Indonesia scuba diving sites
|
