the north

The North of the Komodo National Park contains some of the most famous dive sites of the park such as the much requested ‘shotgun’.

Typically the north of the park is associated with stronger currents, larger marine species and incredible schools of fish, but that is not all that this area has to offer. The lesser known sites such as Crystal Bay and the Witches Hat have incredible macro as well as the chance to see juvenile manta rays! From longer drift dives such as golden passage to the small pinnacles such as Crystal Rock, the north area of the park has thrilling dives with an eclectic variety of topographical features

With the northern waters dropping to depths of 300+ metres, you never know what megafauna could make an appearance!

Due to the winds and conditions the best time to dive these sites is from March - October, with July, August & September having the best visibility. If it isn’t too wavy we can sometimes access these sites in November - March the visibility is often reduced and the water a little colder.

*We require a minimum of 4 divers to head to the north of the park, if we have less there is the option to pay a supplemental fee of 400,000 IDR split between the guests on the boat*

Crystal Rock is a fascinating dive site, with every dive done there having the potential to feel like a completely different site. It’s a pinnacle dive with the top of the rock just breaching the surface during low tide. There is also a deeper, submerged pinnacle accessible when the currents allow. Covered in schooling fish and beautiful corals, this site is a favourite amongst divers!

When there is current we can dive this site in two ways. The first is the lee side (the protected side of the rock) Here you can shelter yourself away from the current and relax and enjoy as schools of fish swirl their way around you. Or you can dive it in the more energetic way and drop in on what's called the 'split'. This means you go along with the current towards the pinnacle, as it hits the pinnacle then you're in for the quite the ride! This is a great way to see grey reef sharks, crazy amounts of fish and experience the famous currents of Komodo!

This site is a fantastic place to see pelagic fish, turtles, white tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, napoleon wrasse, schools of sweetlips, surgeon fish and the occasional eagle ray. It is also a macro lovers haven with tons of nudibranchs and pygmy seahorse, frog fish and scorpion fish to be seen.

A close neighbor to Crystal Rock this dive site also has strong current and is best dived at slack tide. This is a submerged reef so if the currents are too strong it can make for a tricky dive.

As you drop to the edge of the submerged reef you can see hoards of trevally, mackerel, tuna and giant trevally, schooling fusiliers and surgeonfish along with sharks, turtles and even the occasional dolphin! This site is also a fantastic place to find pygmy seahorse.

You will then work your way back to the top and shelter in the large boulders and rocky castles that give this spectacular dive site its name and become part of a school of welcoming bannerfish or midnight snapper or spend your time searching for ribbon eels, crocodile fish and leaf scorpion fish just to name a few!

This gentle sloping reef is a great option for those who don’t feel like the Cauldron is the dive for them. The stunning hard coral reefs are filled with glass fish, schooling fusiliers, anthias and so much more. White tip reef sharks also frequent this site and there is also the chance of a manta or devil ray swimming past.

The pristine reef is also home to green and hawksbill turtles, snappers, huge bottom dwelling rays such as thorny sting rays, marble rays and spotted sting rays.

This is one of our more relaxed dive sites in the north of the park, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a plethora of fascinating marine life to see! Sheltered from the stronger currents of the other dive sites this area has beautiful hard corals that drop down to a sandy button where we often see eagle rays or green turtles feeding. During the right season this is also a great spot to see juvenile manta rays!

Take your time to slow down and enjoy beautiful underwater scenery, search the reefs for incredible macro and even head out over the sand and chance your luck at spotting frogfish, wunderpus and ghost pipefish!

This submerged reef sits just west of the more famous Cauldon and boasts very similar marine life. - white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, devil rays and manta rays are just some of the megafauna we can see here

The reef itself drops down to around 40m and at the tip of the reef there are thousands of blue striped snappers. Away from the main point there is a sandy slope home to a stunning group of hundreds of garden eels - a site that will impress even the most seasoned diver!

An incredible dive site that takes you on a ride through a kaleidoscope of as many different colors and landscapes as you can imagine. From golden coral reefs to sandy slopes where the whitetip reef sharks rest, to large coral formations and rocky outcrops. Usually there is a strong current here so just go with the flow and enjoy the ride.

On this site you can usually see turtles and whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks and black tips. Keep your eyes open though as you may see devil rays, eagle rays or mantas making their way through the passage to get to North Komodo!