Your Guide to Diving in Sangalaki

The Manta Ray Expressway

...Highlights: manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity...
...Diving environment: drift diving, beginner and advanced divers, off the beaten track...

Just over the border from Sabah, Malaysia in Indonesian Borneo is the island of Sangalaki - a superb dive spot that can be visited by liveaboardwhere big numbers of manta rays frolic all year round. Many destinations claim that mantas are frequent visitors but few can truly lay claim to having resident mantas all year round, and so many of them! Most locations may hold encounters with mantas if you're lucky, but when you're scuba diving at Sangalaki, luck is not a pre-requisite. Nature is on your side, guaranteeing reef manta rays at almost every site.

In the waters around Sangalaki there are numerous manta cleaning stations - cleaner wrasse are found aplenty here, which obligingly clean all the grime and parasites off the skin and gills of the manta rays. Mantas gather here for their regular cleaning sessions. If you head out to one of these cleaning sessions, you have quite an experience in store for you. You'll find yourself eye-to-eye with the mantas as they are generally inquisitive and quite friendly by nature and will probably approach you.

The manta rays are found in huge numbers at the dive sites off Sangalaki's east coast, namely Manta Avenue, Manta Parade and Manta Run. Usually, you'll find these graceful creatures near the surface with their gills wide open as they feed on the rich plankton to be found in these waters. The mantas can also be found cruising the seas or less often foraging for sustenance down on the sea beds. They may not be huge oceanic manta rays but you will have no complaints if you find yourself in the middle of 6 or 7 mantas swooping all around you.

Another highlight of Sangalaki diving is the site known as Jellyfish Lake on nearby Kakaban Island - the sight of thousands of jellyfish floating around you has an almost other-worldly beauty to it, and you need have no fear of stings while snorkelling here (you can't dive in the lake). There are 4 different varieties of jellyfish in the lake situated in the middle of the island. With no access to the open sea, the jellyfish here have had no encounters with their natural predators and as a result have lost their sting.

When you consider the other attractions of the area: Whale Shark Point, big fish action at Maratua and Kakaban, great macro diving at the nearby islands of Derawan and Samama, and the possibility of seeing tiger sharks at Pulau Sambit, it is clear why many people believe the diving in Sangalaki to be "a one-stop shop" without rival in the region. It's like being in several great dive destinations at once - manta rays, macro, enormous numbers of green turtles and sharks, Jellyfish Lake and splendid wall dives, a winning combination.

Dive Site Descriptions

Coral Gardens

Almost every dive location in the world seems to have a site named Coral Gardens. The island of Sangalaki is no exception and its 'Coral Gardens' is located west of the island. At its deepest, this dive site is just flat sand where you'll find a number of goatfish nosing around. Above the seabed though, it is a gradual incline of shelves full of hard and soft corals.

You'll find acropora corals and mosaic corals, among which are a rich variety of reef life such as anthias, damsels, snappers and triggerfish. Other favourites to be found are cuttlefish, flat worms, sea stars, cushion stars, sea cucumbers, feather stars, frogfish and lizard fish. Do remember to look up every now and then, for in the midst of watching all the busy coral life, you'll probably come across a manta or 2 feeding in the waters as well as green turtles which regularly lay their eggs on the beaches of Sangalaki.
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Coral Gardens is also a scuba diver's favourite at night. Nocturnal sightings include big hermit crabs with their hairy orange legs, cute little baby cuttlefish (and adult ones as well), lobsters, octopus and shrimps. All in all, a very satisfying night dive.

Derawan

There are half a dozen dive sites dotted around the small island of Derawan. This place is known for its macro dives, as well as a bit of drift. Ghostpipefish, flying gurnards, frogfish, blue-ringed octopus, pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, harlequin shrimp and tiger shrimp are all found here.

However, Derawan is perhaps best known as a turtle laying island. Literally, thousands of turtles roam the area and they can be seen almost every night, crawling up the beaches to lay their eggs.

Jellyfish Lake

Known as a biological paradise the like of which you can find only at one other place on earth, this lake hosts a huge colony of jellyfish. 4 species of endemic jellyfish lives in this lagoon, including the upside down Cassiopeia Ornate, Mastigias Papua, Aurelia Aurita and Tripedalia Cystophora. These jellyfish are quite special; unlike their sea-living counterparts, they have been living in a lake, protected from their natural predators such as turtles and barracuda. Through time therefore, they have lost their ability to sting simply because they have had no need for them.
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It's an otherworldly experience swimming with these jellyfish in hues of transparent pink and almost invisible blue as they gently pulsate and orb around you. Some find it eerie, others find it indescribably beautiful. Try looking down into the depths of the lake where, among the green algae, you'll spot some snow white anemones. These are the new predators of the jellyfish; and any jellyfish which head down to the bottom of the lake are usually gobbled up by the anemones.

Lake Kakaban was created through a geological uplifting of the seabed over a period of 2,000,000 years, effectively landlocking 5 km² of sea water within a 50 metre high ridge. Over this long period of time the trapped marine life have adapted to stagnant, brackish and less saline water, low mineral levels and a simple food chain. Fringed by mangrove and with a shallow bottom densely covered in green halimeda algae, the lake is also home to sea snakes, cardinalfish, gobies, tunicates, sea cucumbers, tube worms, crustaceans and other simple marine life forms.

Jellyfish Lake is actually a snorkelling site (you won't be allowed to dive here) comprising a lake in the middle of Kakaban Island, about 25 minutes from Sangalaki Island. You'll have to take a short trek through an untouched rainforest to the lake from the shore, after which you can snorkel to your hearts content.

Kakaban

Here's a place which offers some thrilling big fish action. Kakaban Island, which is also home to Jellyfish Lake, is a 25 minute boat ride from Sangalaki, and this rugged island lives up to pretty much any expectations you may have of it. Its deep walls, strong currents and plankton-rich waters attract the big fish, such as manta and eagle rays, hammerhead sharks, barracudas, blue finned tuna, jacks or trevallies, as well as big reef residents like leopard sharks and whitetip and grey reef sharks.

Smaller reef life which congregate along the walls of hanging soft coral tiers, fans and whips, come in the form of fusiliers, parrotfish, turtles, surgeon fish, gobies, butterflyfish and angelfish. You can also spot pygmy seahorses, hairy-squat lobsters, and all types of moray eel.

Lighthouse Reef

A site located on the eastern part of Sangalaki Island. Your dive boat will be moored at the lighthouse which gives this reef its name, and this is where your dive will begin.

Within this site there are 2 small wrecks. The older one is identified by the proliferation of more soft corals of the dendronephthya species and magnificent sea anemones, where you'll find sweetlips, gobies, scorpionfish, anemonefish and clownfish, jawfish, ribbon eels and groupers lurking furtively under the wreck. Among the gorgonian fans, keen eyesight will allow you to spot pygmy seahorses. While on the sandy bottom watch out for tridacna giant clams dotted around, always a pleasure to find.

Manta Parade

As the name of this dive spot indicates, majestic manta rays parade up and down this manta highway, coming to you from all directions. More often than not, you'll find them just breaking the surface as they feed on the rich plankton to be found in these waters. For that reason, snorkelling at this site is just as good as diving at it.
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Located at the north of Sangalaki Island, Manta Parade is actually one of the 3 dive sites which form manta highway land. If the mantas are not feeding in the waters, they're usually being preened by cleaner wrasse at cleaning stations.

The sight of the manta rays is awe inspiring. They glide and swoop by you; the friendlier and more inquisitive will come right up to you. Watching their sleek movements underwater, one is reminded of fighter jets in the skies - in fact, black manta rays look just like a stealth bombers (if you use your imagination!).

The topography of this Sangalaki scuba diving site starts with Manta Avenue which is a set of coral steps where, besides mantas, you'll find elegant fire gobies and dancing gobies. It then continues onto Manta Parade where the reef is a set of ridges which rise up and down like little underwater hills. Here small coral heads, gorgonian fans and large barrel sponges lie on a flat sandy bottom, littered with alabaster sea cucumbers and feather stars. Within them, you'll find sea anemones with clownfish, flat worms, fan worms, sea stars, cushion stars and reef fish like frogfish, crocodilefish, parrotfish, angelfish, triggerfish, snappers, fusiliers, sweetlips, lionfish, scorpionfish and stonefish.

When you start seeing rocky coral outcrops and bommies, you're at Manta Run. Here, you'll find more gorgonian fans, soft corals and barrel sponges, all topped off with feather stars. Within the numerous crevices and overhangs, there are leaf fish and frog fish which, if you happen to stumble upon them during feeding times, you'll witness preying on the somewhat gullible cardinalfish.

Maratua

There are more than 20 named dive sites along the outer edge of this C-shaped island of East Kalimantan. It is characterised by steep slopes and deep vertical drop-offs that are exposed to strong currents. This means lots of pelagic action! Some of the big fish that school here include barracuda, rainbow runners, snapper, trevally and surgeonfish, as well as dogtooth tuna, Spanish mackerel and giant groupers. Sharks such as grey reef, leopard and whitetip reef, are commonly sighted. Lucky divers may also encounter whale sharks and thresher sharks.

The slopes of Maratua, which are covered in sea fans, black coral bushes and barrel sponges, are a favourite place for Napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish and turtles. Eagle rays and giant sting rays also frequent the region.

Turtle Town

Green turtles are the main attraction at this Sangalaki diving site, as implied by its name. You'll either find them feeding, mating or resting. When you bare in mind that an annual average of 20 - 30 turtle nests are laid on the beaches each night, you'll have a better idea of the size of the mating activities of the turtles.
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Turtle Town is the more famous of the 2 sites in Sangalaki where you will come across its famous green turtles. Located in the southwest corner of Sangalaki, there are gullies and stony ridges all over the place at this rather flat dive site, which make this place ideal for green turtles to stop for a bite to eat or rest up for a while.

Along with them, you'll also find reef fish like pufferfish, moorish idols as well as sea stars and feather stars. Other marine life which you'll see here include octopus, giant cuttlefish, popcorn crabs, catfish, shy mandarinfish and for lovers of macrolife, flamboyantly coloured nudibranchs.

How to Dive Sangalaki

If you want to be on the doorstep of the most amazing manta dive sites, then we recommend a liveaboard cruise.

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The Diving Season

Being only 2 degrees north of the equator means that Sangalaki isn't really visited by a monsoon season so the diving and weather conditions are steady and fine throughout the year. There are 2 seasons in Kalimantan, the Rainy Season which runs from December to March, and the Dry Season which lasts the rest of the year, however since this is the tropics, those seasons do not count for much. The air temperature is a constant 28-30°C year round. And with the Derawan archipelago being located offshore, light sea breezes ensure that the islands do not suffer from the high humidity of the mainland.

Water visibility in Sangalaki ranges from 8-30m but averages about 20m. If can fall as low as 25-30 feet (8-10 M.) or be in excess of 100 feet (30+ M.). Kakaban and Maratua tend to have slightly better visibility than Sangalaki because they are further offshore. Likewise, Sangalaki usually has better visibility than Derawan. Sea temperature is a fairly constant 28°C year round.

The manta rays, turtles and stingless jellyfish can be seen all year round. The whale sharks are most commonly seen in the mornings over the period of each new moon, but have been seen at other times of the month. They can be seen around Derawan but move to Talisayan between mid-May and mid-September due to the southerly winds.

Where is Sangalaki and How Do I Get There?

Review our map below of Indonesia, showing the location of Sangalaki in Kalimantan. Here, you will find information on how to get to the ports of departure in Indonesia, from where you will cruise to Sangalaki.

Map of Indonesia (click to enlarge in a new window)

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Your Guide to Diving in Sangalaki

The Manta Ray Expressway

Dive Site Descriptions

Coral Gardens

Derawan

Jellyfish Lake

Kakaban

Lighthouse Reef

Manta Parade

Maratua

Turtle Town

How to Dive Sangalaki

The Diving Season

Where is Sangalaki and How Do I Get There?

Reef Summary

TESTIMONIAL

Johanna Vuorte

Useful References