There exists a huge variety of dive web pages in this fantastic spot. Located in the centre of your Coral Triangle, the level of maritime biodiversity found in Raja Ampat is unmatched wherever else on the planet.
The northern and central areas of Raja Ampat feature thrilling dives stuffed with fish, interesting drift dives and delightful difficult coral reefs. Listed here, the mass movement of drinking water on Each and every tide attracts huge universities of fish and many manta rays, which include enormous large manta rays. Evening dives about the jetties During this space are specially memorable for that Unusual and amazing critters you can see.
The southern area of Raja Ampat is characterised by spectacularly colourful comfortable corals And big sea lovers. Maritime lifestyle is equally outstanding with mantas, sharks and macro everyday living galore.
Raja Ampat addresses a huge place, so a liveaboard is an excellent solution to discover The nice dive sites. Love Raja Ampat within the ease and comfort of a liveaboard. E-book with us currently!
Ideal Dive Sites in Raja Ampat
We now have separated the most effective dive web sites in Raja Ampat into some wide parts – Dampier Strait northern dive web sites, central dive websites and Misool.
We've explained below the ideal dive web sites in Raja Ampat. There are various other fantastic dive spots, but you will discover a lot of to mention them all. We've covered the preferred, and those visited most frequently because of the liveaboards.
Raja Ampat - Dampier Strait Dive Web-sites
The distances in between the dive web pages during the north could be fairly wide. Thus, We now have break up the diving in Raja Ampat's north into individual parts.
Wayag
During the pretty north of Raja Ampat is a group of islands close to Wayag. The viewpoints here will award the adventurous Using the atypical view of Raja Ampat. Quite a few compact limestone islands nestled while in the obvious blue waters of the lagoons are a small amount of paradise.
The liveaboards mainly take a look at this region for that viewpoint and lagoons. Youthful manta rays and a very good quantity of black-tip reef sharks shelter within the relaxed, shallow waters listed here. It's possible you'll do two or three dives below close to the limestone islands. The reefs Allow me to share rocky slopes with fantastic chances to find out nudibranchs, scorpionfish, Napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish munching within the hard corals and maybe a passing ray.
Kawe
The equator dissects the big island of Kawe. South of the equator is two superb dive web pages.
Black Rock
Situated on the west coast of Kawe Island this significant dive web site needs no less than two dives to swim throughout. The standard entry place is around the northwest Component of the dive web-site where by There are many compact pinnacles protected with gentle corals and sea lovers. Swimming toward the south a mild slope is present with quite big bushes of black corals hosting groups of oriental sweetlips and snappers. If drifting for the southern part of the internet site, you may come upon big rocks with A great deal marine existence to determine. Watch out in the deep drinking water for pelagics such as dogtooth tuna, Spanish mackerel plus the occasional white idea and grey reef sharks. Manta Rays have often been viewed in this article also.
Eagle Rock
Liveaboards frequently do several dives on This page as a consequence of its dimensions. Eagle Rock is home to the largest reef manta ray populace in the northern Element of Raja Ampat. Important aggregations of black snappers and yellowtail barracudas are usually all over. The west Element of the positioning has great rocks down to 25 metres included with sea supporters where pygmy seahorses are witnessed. Ghost pipefish camouflage them selves in the black coral bushes. Wobbegongs and stingrays are consistently seen from the cracks of the boulders. With the shallow rock, hydroids are current, which is a wonderful chance to see Pontohi seahorses.
Aljui Bay
White Arrow
The wall of Aljui may be very extraordinary in spots with many crevasses along the wall. Sea lovers and comfortable coals are present on the location. Many species of nudibranchs are observed right here. Provide along a dive gentle to find the marine existence that makes use of the small cuts during the wall to cover from predators. Ghost pipefish, longfin comet fish, and juvenile snappers in many cases are seen here. Glimpse in the sea supporters for the uniquely coloured yellow Bargibanti pygmy seahorse.
Aljui Bay Jetty
You will find there's big pearl farm In the bay, and so they constructed a number of jetties alongside the coastline. Fantastic spot to do an afternoon dive to investigate the sandy slope wherever you will find massive hard coral heads. This is amongst the web pages where by wobbegong sharks are Pretty much confirmed. You will find there's incredibly significant resident faculty of yellow lined scads beneath the key jetty. All through night time time this dive web-site transforms into one of the best for macro marine lifetime from the north Component of Raja Ampat. Location-tail frogfish, ghost pipefish, flamboyant cuttlefish as well as the endemic strolling shark (Epaulette shark) are a few of the highlights of This web site.
Penemu
This is a popular spot for that liveaboards due to fantastic viewpoint below. There are many amazing dives in this article as well.
Melissa's Back garden
Essentially the most-balanced challenging coral reef in Raja Ampat. An enormous plateau slopes off into sandy areas with large coral heads. Wobbegong sharks lie under these bommies, surrounded by glassfish. Explore across the plateau right before heading up into your shallows. The immaculate challenging corals host A huge number of colourful anthias and fish university throughout this place. Blacktip reef sharks in many cases are witnessed cruising over the top from the corals.
Batu Rufus
Batu Rufus has a tremendous hard coral back garden in the shallows, a great setting for blacktip reef sharks. Partitions to the west are coated with gentle corals, sea supporters and amazing red anemones. Discover the tricks on the sandy rubble slopes to the south with massive coral heads all along the slope the place Pontohi pygmy seahorses are frequently noticed. Check out the shallows perfect to do your protection prevent at the website and dive definitely Probably the most renowned swim troughs in the region.
Raja Ampat - Central Dive Web sites
Dampier Strait is named soon after British navigator William Dampier. The large system of drinking water separates the islands of Waigeo and Batanta. The dive web-sites are predominately within the northern aspect with the strait within the islands of Kri and Mansuar. With all around 30 dives websites within a ten-kilometre radius of such islands, you'll find a lot of to write about here. We list many of our favourites.
Manta Sandy
Manta rays come listed here to some cleaning station. Locate a location during the sand, kneel down, and look at the demonstrate! If your mantas You should not appear, you will find a lot of macro lifetime within the sand. Look out for wobbegong sharks to the reef. You will find a long term ranger's station built about the sandbanks, and you may find out about the conservation of such majestic rays with the locals.
Arborek Jetty
On the list of villages frequented most from the central Element of Raja Ampat is Arborek Village. Right here the locals designed a little jetty where the maritime lifetime is concentrated, with the significant college of Yellow Lined Scads to your uncommon blue-ringed octopus. A mild slope with reef and sandy locations drops down to 25 metres. There are substantial coral heads, the right habitat for wobbegong sharks. Arborek Jetty is the ideal dive internet site to perform while in the afternoon and is usually dived during the night. Reef manta rays are observed swimming by mainly because of the vicinity of Manta Sandy.
Cape Kri
Cape Kri is the dive web-site that place Raja Ampat within the map. Situated in the central region of Raja Ampat, within the Dampier Strait. Dr Gerry Allen recorded 374 diverse species on an individual tank dive at this breathtaking dive web page. Schooling sweetlips, jacks, surgeonfish, barracudas, fusiliers and batfish can be sighted all along this dive web site. Blacktip reef sharks swim during the shallows, and gray reef sharks cruise while in the deep. Turtles, napoleons and bumphead parrotfish also are usually spotted right here.
Sardine Reef
Sardine Reef is Just about the most famous dive web sites in the Dampier region as a result of high concentration of fish action. Barracudas, batfish, bumphead parrotfish, black snappers, sweetlips And large schools of neon fusiliers are always current on This page. If the current is working black idea, white idea and gray reef sharks is going to be patrolling the reef. Here are a few massive boulders on the sting of the reef included in delicate corals, great places for the wobbegong sharks to cover. Due to vicinity of your dive website Blue Magic, big manta rays are frequently seen here in conjunction with turtles specifically in the shallows with the reef. The title Sardine Reef is because of all of the marine lifetime currently being packed into a person dive web site like a can of sardines.
Blue Magic
A little pinnacle that guarantees magic! Gray reef sharks prowl large educational institutions of jacks, snappers and fusiliers. Wobbegong sharks lie beneath the coral heads. And large manta rays adore to come here for just a cleanse. Located around Mioskon island, this pinnacle is essential on your take a look at to get the magical expertise with the largest ray in the ocean. Along the shallows of the pinnacle, there are a few significant boulders house to frogfish, Pontohi seahorses and infrequently blue-ringed octopus.
Raja Ampat - Misool Dive Sites
The dive web-sites Within this southern A part of Raja Ampat are concentrated in the area southeast of Misool island, among the list of 4 kings. Misool has so many dive websites It will likely be impossible to say them all.
Misool is an unlimited space. Numerous liveaboards will invest The full working day in a single space of Misool. We have listed underneath a number of the most well-liked locations and our favorite dive web-sites within them.
Fiabecet
An unlimited ridge connects the two big islands Liveaboard Indonesia of Kalig and Boo. The ridge rises towards the floor in many locations, developing magnificent dive web pages.
Nudi Rock
Above h2o, this rock appears like a nudibranch. Underneath the floor is a considerable dive internet site plastered with colourful smooth corals. The health and fitness of this reef attracts considerable maritime lifetime. Pygmy seahorses, education barracuda, wobbegong sharks, turtles, hunting jacks, reef sharks, colourful anemones web hosting anemone fish, delicate coral pipefish not to mention nudibranchs.
Batu Kecil
"Batu" indicates rock and "Kecil" signifies smaller. The modest rock is the only Element of the website that breaks the surface area but underwater it really is the opposite. With walls while in the north and in addition inside the south, this huge dive website is usually dived at any time of the day. On each side, the huge amount of comfortable corals is past perception. Big Napoleon wrasse swimming all-around are usually a take care of. Hawksbill turtles are virtually resident to This website.
Whale Rock
The title emanates from the most prominent rock condition that is sort of a whale. An unlimited procedure with an excessive amount of to discover in only one dive, the site includes two islands. One little and one greater, and in between You will find there's coral head with essentially the most volume of soft corals you'll ever see! There may be not a cost-free Place over the rock for more corals to expand on it. Right here the currents run from north to south which is why the middle rock is paradise for divers and for that corals that mature there. You will find often nutrients passing by all day long long. White tip reef sharks generally patrol the middle rock. The tough coral gardens on the two islands are healthful as might be. There are actually good opportunities to discover blacktip reef sharks and turtles swimming all around in the shallows.
Boo & Close by
Boo Windows
An legendary shallow swim-by is a single emphasis of the great dive internet site. It's got even showcased around the entrance cover of the book about Raja Ampat. An additional will be the prolonged ridge That could be a hub of exercise. Unsuspecting snappers college previously mentioned camouflaged wobbegong sharks. Manta rays come to the cleaning stations in this article. Grey reef sharks patrol the deep and curious blacktip reef sharks check out the divers in the shallows. As with many dive websites in Misool, the immense degree of colourful smooth corals may well blow your thoughts! A necessity-do dive web page in Misool.
Shadow Reef
Shadow Reef aka Magic Mountain is close to Boo. Here you'll be able to see reef and giant manta rays, one among a hardly any sites on the earth in which you can see both of those species on 1 dive. Additionally, The entire pinnacle is wholly included in fish lifetime! That is a particularly well known dive web site, and you'll see why the moment you jump in. This large pinnacle is incredibly chaotic! Snappers, barracuda, jacks, batfish, fusiliers, gray reef, groupers to name some of the resident fish in this article. For your Blessed divers, a dolphin may pass by much too.
Yuliet
This dive web page is an intensive underwater reef that often confuses divers due to dimensions in the little rock that comes out of your h2o. The northern Portion of the website has spectacular walls all the way down to thirty metres having a large colony of sea supporters internet hosting the Denise pygmy seahorse as well as Bargibanti pygmy seahorse. Light slopes are within the east and west with sizeable barrel sponges and whip corals. A small ridge into the south of the website is the place, depending upon the recent, there is commonly a warm location for big concentrations of fish such as Chevron barracudas and spadefish. The shallows of Yuliet have quite large bommies covered totally in comfortable coral and many really hard corals, the best location to perform the protection halt.
Wayilbatan
Neptune's Admirer Sea
For several scuba divers, This page gets to be their favourite web site just after a few minutes from the dive. The dive web-site is found during the channel produced by Wayilbatan Island and Warakaket Island. The visit northern section is made of an incredibly Mild slope all the way down to 35 meters that transforms right into a wall that is probably one of the richest in soft corals and sea supporters in the region. There is wonderful marine daily life to check out. Pygmy seahorses are routinely observed, and from time to time, the most significant reef-connected fish in the world the giant grouper is usually found in the midst of the channel resting or swimming by along the wall. The shallow, difficult coral backyard during the south from the dive internet site is thoughts-blowing, the ideal spot to perform the last a few minutes on the dive.
Wedding day Cake
One of the most extraordinary underwater topography in the region, with ledges slopes and partitions, This website has all of it. In November and December Wedding day Cake plays host to large educational facilities of silverside fish which are the favourite food stuff from the Mobula rays. Normally seen Listed here are huge groups of Mobula feeding to the silverside fish, and that is an knowledge of a life span. From the west, from the sandy slope part of the site, turtles and many certain fish including the pink eye goby and the fantastic colourful flasher wrasse males displaying their pectoral fin to bring in the women are often viewed.
Wayili Rock
This web site is frequently dived inside the afternoon or as an evening dive. Below it is often Attractive to begin to see the existence of a huge school of spadefish and barracudas. Slopes into the east A part of the website and dramatic mini partitions from the west type this wonderful dive. Wonderful challenging coral gardens inside the shallows are in which reef octopus and turtles occur to wash inside the late afternoon. In the night dives the endemic epaulette shark is sort of certain. Several divers below have also viewed the smallest pygmy seahorse on the earth, the Satomi pygmy seahorse.
Daram
Sweet Retail outlet
The Sweet Retailer walls are entirely covered in maritime lifetime. You can find a great deal of smooth coral and whip corals there are not a lot of empty spots along the partitions, dropping all the way down to 35 metres moreover. The coral is so colourful that divers decided to give This web site the name of Sweet Keep as a consequence of so much colour in one site. The hard coral while in the shallows is excellent, as well as the better part is that it's at the best depth to do the protection stop. Napoleon wrasse, turtles along with a resident faculty of neon fusiliers make This page a fantastic choice to dive at any time of your day.
Andiamo
Andiamo is a huge website with extraordinary maritime existence residing on it. On the east of the internet site, You will find there's pinnacle the place a major college of barracudas and spadefish have adopted it as their dwelling. The pinnacle alone is covered with gentle coral and gorgonian sea followers. Pelagics, sharks and in some cases giant manta rays are already observed here. Right after inside 35 minutes you may swim to the key rock. The deep wall around the north or the slope place around the south, in equally directions, are covered with marine daily life. Universities of yellow snappers are normally waiting from the shallows. Listed here the barrel sponges increase to remarkable dimensions building them one of many highlights of the internet site.
Other Routines
A lot of liveaboards will stop by the world of Penemu for that viewpoint there. Simple steps to the very best will award you with a good looking look at over the limestone formations from the crystal-crystal clear waters underneath.
Arborek Village is a favourite spot for liveaboards to visit. The youngsters below really like visitors and will adhere to you all around this beautifully kept village. Convey alongside supplies for the school or treats for the children for more smiles!
Tomolol Cave is an extremely exclusive practical experience. Have a trip throughout the pearl farm during the bay in the maze of limestone formations. At the conclusion of the beautiful tour, an enormous cavern will all of a sudden surface. You are able to swim by way of this large cavern and be surprised with the rock formations. Enormous stalactites and stalagmites are forming within Tomolol Cave for 1000s of decades.
Several regions of Raja Ampat are merely waiting around being explored. The endless limestone islands and rocks make solution lagoons. Liveaboards may choose you over a lagoon tour to appreciate these beautiful seascapes.
Seashores are just about everywhere in Raja Ampat! Just check with your liveaboard to drop you off between dives to investigate a Seashore all to yourselves.
Marine Park and Conservation in Raja Ampat
The Raja Ampat Marine Shielded Area network covers a place of one,185,940 hectares. It was made in 2002 and it is comprised of seven distinct maritime guarded spots. They can be managed with the Raja Ampat Regency and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in partnership with community communities and with assistance from Intercontinental NGOs.
All people to Raja Ampat are required to get a permit that's valid for twelve months. The cash gathered goes towards the operational prices of preserving the MPAs also to Group conservation and development initiatives.