The large island of Flores, to the east of Komodo, often gets overlooked by divers. Some Komodo liveaboard trips start at Maumere but head straight to Komodo without diving Flores dive sites. That's a shame because Flores has a great deal to offer underwater. The 1992 tsunami caused a lot of damage to local reefs but the regeneration of the reefs has been speedy. Many dive sites are back to their former glory however dynamite fishing is still a problem in places. 
Flores is a very bio diverse area with many endemic marine species. Critter hunters will not be disappointed. This is a great area to explore. There are many places where divers could be the first to dive and discover a new dive site.
Maumere house reefs are home to a wide variety of macro critters like frogfish, leaf scorpionfish, ornate ghost pipefish and mimic octopus.
Pangah Balang is a good place to see some bigger fish like reef sharks and eagle rays. The sloping wall drops to 30m and is covered with healthy soft corals and gorgonian sea fans. Stingrays can be found on the sandy bottom as can patches of garden eels plus different goby and shrimp species. Also look out for mantis shrimp and cuttlefish. The colourful reef is home to schools of fish, moray eels, lionfish, scorpionfish and frogfish. Very large bumphead parrotfish can also be seen here. Currents can be strong here.
Flores Dive Sites Continued >> |
