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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Raja Ampat location page.
Overview
A submerged seamount in southern Raja Ampat's Misool region, also known as Shadow Reef or Karang Bayangan. The reef rises to snorkelable depth before stepping down into blue water, with manta cleaning stations, grey reef sharks, jacks, barracuda and dense clouds of reef fish. Current is part of the draw here, but it can turn the dive demanding quickly.
Briefing note
This is not a beginner manta dive. Current, remote logistics and blue-water ascents make it best for confident advanced divers with recent drift experience. Manta encounters are seasonal and tide-dependent; give cleaning stations space and follow guide positioning closely.
What you'll see
6 species curated- seasonalOceanic manta rayPeak: Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr
- seasonalReef manta rayPeak: Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr
- year-roundGrey reef shark
- year-roundGiant trevally
- year-roundWobbegong shark
- year-roundSchooling barracuda
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- medium confidenceOceanic manta ray
- Last confirmed
- Apr 2026
- Recent records
- 45 within 25 km
- Cluster months
- Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Manta Trust IDtheManta Database — Manta Trust
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28–30 °C | 15–30 m | strong |
| Feb | 28–30 °C | 15–30 m | strong |
| Mar | 28–30 °C | 15–30 m | strong |
| Apr | 28–30 °C | 15–30 m | strong |
| May | 28–30 °C | 12–25 m | moderate |
| Jun | 27–29 °C | 10–22 m | moderate |
| Jul | 27–29 °C | 10–22 m | moderate |
| Aug | 27–29 °C | 10–22 m | moderate |
| Sep | 27–29 °C | 12–25 m | moderate |
| Oct | 28–30 °C | 15–30 m | strong |
| Nov | 28–30 °C | 15–30 m | strong |
| Dec | 28–30 °C | 15–30 m | strong |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- Reef hook — Guides may use hooks only where locally permitted and only on dead substrate when current is running across the cleaning stations.
- SMB — The site is exposed and blue-water ascents are common when groups drift off the seamount.
Next step
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