Raja Laut

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Both beginners and experts will enjoy themselves here. The fertile waters of Banda are teeming with schooling fish. Surgeonfish, Bannerfish, jacks, barracuda, even schooling sharks and mobula rays are frequently witnessed on the outer islands, a mesmerizing array of life, where divers can observe the food chain in full swing. Even the most world-weary diver will be in raptures at the sheer density of marine life.

Here are some of the best dive sites in the Banda Islands:

Keraka Island - Pulau Keraka or Crab Island is just a few minutes further out, and protects the north entrance of the Neira - Gunung Api sea passage. The dive normally begins on the south side with a plunge down a close to a vertical wall which is blanketed by sea squirts in animated hues of blue and yellow. At about 20 metres the wall gives way to a sandy sloping bottom, featuring some big bommies among the sand patches. Generally, divers leave the wall to their left shoulders as they make their way around the southern tip of the island heading north. The reef houses a variety of marine life. You may encounter with a school of chevron barracuda and some of the larger species of moray eel. As you dive your way around Keraka and into the shallower area, you'll find acropora corals and table corals, pinnate banner fish, and all types of small wrasses.

Karang Hatta - or Sekaru meaning 'shallow area', is a 500 metre wide atoll a couple of kilometers off the south coast of Hatta Island. Hatta Island is about 25 kilometers by sea from Banda Neira. Skaru atoll, a hardly submerged reef a few hundred metres off the southern point of Hatta. On a coral ridge, watch the passing spectacle of Unicornfish, Fusiliersm Jack Fish and Rainbow Runners, often seen Whitetip Sharks and Dogtoothed Tuna, Napolean Wrasse, and Hawksbill Turtles. Infinite cascades of neon fusiliers interspersed with the yellow and blue fusiliers seem to roll down the reef slope. If you do manage to get a clear sight of the blue then there's a great chance you'll see some of the large pelagic fish like dogtooth tuna, eagle rays, great barracuda sand even great and scalloped hammerhead sharks, coming in order to play their part in this oceanic feeding frenzy.

Karnobol - this is a very fishy dive site located to the east of Banda Besar Island. It is made up of many large rock and underwater coral bommies that are covered with healthy soft and hard corals, sponges and gorgonian sea fans. Currents are mild and visibility is excellent. The usual large schools of snapper, fusilier and red tooth triggerfish are here. Parrotfish, including bumphead parrotfish are common. There are also many different species of butterfly fish in the water.

Batu Kapal - This site is named Batu Kapal with "Batu" meaning rock and "Kapal" meaning ship, because from far away, the rocks of this site resemble a ship. These rocks are a set of pinnacles off the northern tip of Lembeh Island. This is the best big fish dive in the Banda Sea, but severe multi-directional currents prevent all but only the most experienced and hardy divers from venturing here. The density of schooling fish is staggering, with larger species such as dogtooth tuna, barracuda, big-eyed jacks. Giant trevally and rainbow runners well represented. Turtles, white-tip and grey reef sharks as well as eagle rays are also common. Maximum depth is 30 metres. Carpet anemones are home to clown fish and porcelain crabs. Lionfish congregate around large barrel sponges and bearded scorpion fish are usually well camouflaged nearby. Red fire gobbies are numerous in the shallower water and patience is required to get a good photo of them.

Gunung Api - a very bizzare underwater atmosphere, almost as if this small island has somehow missed out on the abundance of the rest of Indonesia. Something about diving on this island is very peculiar. The underwater landscape is made up of ridges with steep vertical walls and spurs. Not so many coral species have managed to make it to this island giving the impression that is not at all Indonesia. Reef surroundings here is also very different. Even though visibility can be very good there is a stark eary feeling to the reef scenery. Descending from the Banda Sea surface you are immediately struck by the amazing display below you, and the best drop off point in order to see Banda's wonder-reef is the northern most flow of lava on the north east coast of the island. In the shallows, there are acropora corals, table corals, warty finger corals, bottlebrush corals, then from 20 down to 35 metres cabbage leaf corals take over the scenery. Some of the table corals are as big as houses. The cabbage patches, and the corals are so densely packed that there is barely enough space among them.