Raja Laut

The Banda Islands are also known as the Spice Islands. Remote and pristine, the best way to get to the Spice islands is on a private yacht charter expedition departing from Ambon in the north or Alor in the south.

These Spice Islands were once highly prized islands, their spices fought over by the Dutch, English and Portugese in the 16th & 17th Centuries. In fact it would be no exaggeration to say that the Great Age of Exploration was launched to search for these spices, as at one time nutmeg was so valuable in London's markets that it was worth its weight in gold.

Today the Banda Sea is a highly prized scuba diving destination. In the Banda Sea one can find large pelagics, WWII wrecks, macro life, caves, sea mounts, and reefs that compare with the best in the world.

The fertile waters of the Banda Sea 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.

Interested in a yacht charter in Banda? Please enquire.

Banda Island Scuba Diving

Banda Islands Dive Site: Gunung Api

A very bizarre 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.

Banda Islands Dive Site: 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 lives. 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 bannerfish, and all manners of small wrasses.

Banda Islands Dive Site: Karang Hatta

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 kilometer 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 like mercury. 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's and even great and scalloped hammerhead sharks, coming in order to play their part in this oceanic feeding frenzy.

Chartered yacht with longer a period would be great as you might want to visit other dive sites such as the Batu kapal, Pohon Miring, Pulau Ai and Karnobol.