Diving in Alor

Located in the heart of the coral triangle, diving in Alor offers some of the best scuba diving experiences in Indonesia. It is renowned for its great visibility, stunning coral reefs, pelagic encounters, and small bizarre critters in the muck sites. From the resort, we can reach more than 40 dive sites within a 30 to 45-minute radius by boat.

It is also possible to do day trips to some dive sites located in the South of Alor or the South of Pantar such as Beang Abang which offers some great muck diving. We recommend a minimum stay of one to two weeks to be able to cover the range of dive sites.

Our Favourite Dive Sites

What attracted us to Alor is the diversity of dive sites available within a small range. Large pelagics such as mola sunfish, whales, dolphins, hammerhead sharks, and thresher sharks can sometimes be seen in the Pantar Strait. In addition to the beautiful coral walls and caves, Kalabahi bay’s black sandy bottom offers some great muck diving. Two species of rhinopias are found in Alor, as well as a wide range of critters including blue-ringed octopus, wonderpus, harlequin shrimp and ghost pipefish just to name a few. Some iconic sites in Alor include “Bama Wall” which is a beautiful steep drop off covered in corals and home to many resident colourful reef fish, “Mucky Mosque” for the macro lovers, and “Current Alley” for some pelagic encounters.

Visibility ranges from 15 metres/50 feet during and around the rainy season; to up to an impressive 40 metres/130 feet in the dry season (June to October), although in recent years this has been known to vary due to changes in weather patterns. The topography of the dive sites consists mainly of walls and slopes. The dive sites are located within a marine park where only local fishermen are allowed to fish.

Here are some of our favourite dive sites:

1. Crucifixion

Crucifixion, known locally as Kelalaka, starts with a steep colourful reef slope with impressive overhangs underneath it, then turns into a vertical wall. There are also two small pinnacles at 30-40 meters where more fish action can be observed.

2. Bama Wall

Bama Wall, sometimes called “The Great Wall of Pantar” is a steep drop off on Pantar island opposite of Alor. Here you will find a wall covered in healthy and colourful coral then a slope with many anthias, butterfly fish as well as fish feeding, fish hiding and sometimes schooling humphead parrotfish, snapper, Napoleon wrasse, trevally and many more. 

3. Wolang Cavern

This cave is a highlight of Alor with two caverns inhabited by an array of creatures. You will usually find crabs, nudibranchs and sometimes large marble rays and nurse sharks where you can even see their eggs. Upon exiting the cavern, you will see a beautiful colourful wall full of orange soft corals.

4.  Cathedral

This dive site is located in the South of Alor, and therefore, given the cooler temperatures of the South, we recommend wearing a 5mm wetsuit during this dive as it can get pretty cold depending on the thermoclines. The highlights of this dive site are its pristine and dense coral coverage, and a swim-through at around thirty meters.

5. Andy’s bus stop

Another stunning wall in the South of Alor, we are in awe of the coral coverage and anthias making it difficult to observe the amazing colours of the reef. Although you might be mesmerized by these incredible colours, do not forget to look out into the blue for some big fish action: hunting giant trevallies, tuna and napoleon are sometimes spotted here.

6. Yellow Corner

This dive site, sometimes also called Current Alley, is reserved for advanced divers, because as the name suggests, it is a dive site where the current can be strong for the best chances of spotting pelagics. During certain times of the year and depending on the moon phase as well as other conditions such as water temperature, it is possible to see hammerhead sharks. At other times, you will usually see barracudas, blacktip sharks, trevally, and large napoleons. If you are lucky you might also spot eagle rays.

7. Pool Party

This dive site is located on Pura island and it gets its name because of the many different types of schooling fish that can be seen here: fusiliers, sweetlips, snapper, batfish, great barracuda, turtle, wrasse, whip coral shrimp, anemone shrimps, lobster, and frogfish. Although the marine life is distracting, don’t forget to look at the beautiful coral underneath it as it is equally as beautiful and interesting.

8. Biatabang

A great place for a check dive after a long trip, Biatabang or “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon” site gives foreign divers an introduction to Alorese culture both above and below the water. Alorese fishermen typically prepare their traditional fish traps which they call “bubu” from bamboo weave. These fish traps are placed on the reef between corals with some rocks. Here you will have the opportunity to see the local fishermen free diving without any fins or equipment, only using their very own homemade goggles from glass.  

9. Mucky Mosque

For divers who love muck diving or for those who would like to give it a try, Mucky Mosque in Alor offers some of the best muck diving in the world. Here you will find the weird and wonderful critters that are typically found in Lembeh, Ambon and Bali. You can usually see here frogfish, ghost pipefish, the harlequin shrimp and some amazing cephalopods such as the wunderpus, and if you are lucky enough to spot the most photogenic fish: the rhinopias.

10. Beang Abang

A must for macro lovers and underwater photographers, Beang Abang is a sandy bay on the Southern part of Pantar island with hot springs from the volcano pouring into the beach. The diving here offers the possibility to spot critters living in the black sand such as ribbon eels, ghost pipefish, octopus, nudibranchs and hairy frogfish.