It’s most likely that people who loves water and travel are just bound to love snorkel. Indonesia’s Komodo National Park is, apparently, one of the best place in the world to do so. The Komodo is just a perfect combination of rugged wild adventure in the surface and colourful coral garden under the water. The islands might seems arid and dry (which is a charm on itself), but life burst beneath the blue ocean. Aside of the dragons, Komodo is famously known for super clear water, vast and colourful coral garden, wall reeds, Manta Ray, turtles, and big fishes. Snorkeling in Komodo National Park is one of tourists’s favourite activity to do in this remote frontier especially for those who aren’t qualified for diving. Here are just some of Komodo’s stunning snorkeling spots that will surely steal your heart.
Manta Point, Most Famous Komodo Snorkeling Spot
If the giant carnivorous Komodo Dragons is the main star of the lands, we have the giant and graceful Manta Ray as the celebrity underwater. Manta Rays just love the currents and temperature of Komodo and they have several cleaning stations around. The most famous is Manta Point near Taka Makassar, where squadrons of “flying” Manta are seen frequently. It’s probably the shallowest Manta Ray sighting spot, as the Mantas usually loves deeper water. The Mantas love to go around to Manta Point in the morning and feed on planktons trapped in the shallow water. Here the water is flat and the current is decent, which make it perfect for snorkelers.
China Shop, the Hidden Gem
Not many people knows China Shop and that’s why it’s an absolute hidden gem! Not many liveaboard include the China Shop in their itinerary. Only chartered yachts and specialised diving liveaboard visit the China Shop, and that makes the spot is almost devoid of mainstream divers. The China Shop consist of hundreds of meters pristine reefs resting in shallow depth and it’s brimming with life! Manta Rays often visit this channel to feed and many sea turtles are seen hanging around at the reefs. Sometimes sharks are seen patrolling around, while the reefs down below is busy with macro life. The China Shop is definitely an underrated, yet one of the best spot for snorkeling in Komodo.
Batu Bolong, the Aquarium Reef
No one can talk about diving and snorkeling Komodo without mentioning the Batu Bolong. Batu Bolong literally means a rock with a hole on it, which is the actual landmark of the site. At the surface, all you see is a small rock submerging to the sea. Below the water, the rock is actually a giant rock reef which goes deep to 70 meters into the blue. A dive in Batu Bolong will instantly make others pale in comparison. The Batu Bolong was like as if all sort of marine life has a congregation meeting and never leave. This one particular site house one of the most immaculate reefs in the park and just exploring with colours and life! The reef is dense with hard and soft sponges while massive colony of orange anthias is making fish explosion around the reef. It’s also a favourite place for tunas, giant trevallies, and sometimes, dolphin which make this site even more stunning.