Dive site spotlight: Mawan

We are always asked what our favourite dive sites are and it is one of the hardest questions to answer! There are so many fantastic places to dive and due to the changing seasons our favourite spots will change throughout the year.

No matter the time of year, Mawan is always high on our crews list of favourite places to dive. In January – March we can see upwards of 30 manta rays on a dive here, then as the water warms up and the visibility get’s clearer we are drawn to the stunning endless coral garden and the chance of seeing reef sharks, turtles, manta rays and fascinating corals.

Where is Mawan?

Mawan is in the centre of the Komodo National Park, meaning we can dive there all year round! From the resort it takes just over an hour to get there and it is close to Siaba Besar and Siaba Kecil.

What does the dive site look like?

‘Mawan’ translates from the local language of Maggarrai to ‘pretty’, and the site as well as the island certainly lives up to its name. The reef is filled with stunning pink soft corals, and is home to all kinds of interesting critters. We can start the dive around a sandy patch which has a manta cleaning station next to it. It’s a great spot to sit and watch the mantas interact with each other. If there are no mantas there, we’ll drop down a little deeper and look for white tip and black tip reef sharks. As you head left shoulder the reef flattens out and is covered in gorgeous corals – starting with predominantly soft corals, the landscape changes and you see more hard corals. 

The dive site is huge and can be dived in a few different ways, each time feeling like a completely new dive site! One dive can be focused on mantas, on time as a macro dive and another to just enjoying the beautiful reef.

When do you dive it?

The ideal conditions for this site is during slack or when the tide is rising. It is possible to dive it on a falling tide, but the currents can be a little trickier. Mantas seem to be there no matter what the currents are doing!

Manta Rays tend to be seen in higher numbers around New moon and Full moon, likely due to increased levels of plankton in the water.

The conditions of this dive site mean that it is suitable for all levels of diver, whether it’s your first dive or you’re a seasoned pro – we’re yet to meet someone who doesn’t love diving here!

What can we see there?

The dive site is a favourite among many because of the incredible manta ray interactions you can have there. While Karang Makassar (Manta Point) may have the most mantas (it’s possible to see over 50 in one dive!), it’s not uncommon to have the entire hour-long dive with mantas swimming over your head at Mawan. It seems to be a site where they enjoy being sociable, and will spend hours at the cleaning stations. But there is much more to this dive site than just mantas. If they’re feeling a little shy and don’t fancy putting on a show, then it’s a great site for sharks, sting rays, and big schools of fusiliers. It’s also a fantastic spot for macro – we regularly see hairy shrimp and leaf scorpion fish at this fantastic site!