Komodo Dive Sites

Gili Lawa

Crystal Bommie is a pinnacle that just breaks the surface off the northern side of the 2 small islets to the north of Komodo main island. It is another excellent dive site and very similar topographically to the famous GPS Point.

The reef is packed with bronze and rust coloured sponges and soft tree corals. The shallows host thousands of anthias and damselfish, large cuttlefish, pyramid butterflyfish, hawksbill turtles and several red octopus.

On the north west side of the pinnacle is a submerged mound that rises to 14 metres or so, with a 20 metre deep saddle between the 2. Due to the strong easterly currents you'll need to make a quick descent to reach this area in anything other than slack tide conditions but the reward can be worth the effort since there is always great schooling action here. There are schools of yellow-ribbon sweetlips, black snappers, bluefin and bigeye trevally, and whitetip reef sharks.

1 kilometre further north from Crystal Bommie is Castle Rock, another submerged mound. This site is even more exposed to the prevailing Komodo currents but for the experienced diver this is a exceptional treat. Whitetips, blacktips, grey reef sharks and giant trevally all frequent this site. The fish life is simply stunning with groupers, midnight snappers and frequent schools of fusiliers passing through.

In recent times a pod of bottlenose dolphins have made this spot one of their favourite hunting grounds, and you can often see them on a dive. These creatures are amazingly agile at work and to watch them in their natural environment is an experience not to be missed.

The Passage between Komodo's Gili Lawa Laut and Gili Lawa Darat islands is a good option for a late afternoon or sunset dive as the bottom is only 20 metres or so deep. Currents can be very strong but the narrow strait often hosts several manta rays, and mobula rays that hunt the silversides in the shallows.

Strong currents can prevent dives on Gili Lawa and the correct conditions must exist before undertaking any dive here. One of the delights of diving in Indonesia is that the area is so large and the dive sites so numerous that it is possible to come across fantastic sites which are still relatively unchartered.

Gili Lawa Reef Basics: Healthy pinnacles with dolphins and sharks
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 15 - 25m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface conditions: Can be rough
Water temperature: 21 - 27°C
Experience level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 6
Diving season: March to December
Distance: ~470 km east of Bali (24 hours)
Access: Komodo dive safaris

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