Raja Ampat snorkelling guide: Where to spot Indonesia’s giant manta rays
There are multiple locations across the globe where these magnificent creatures can be seen up close, but this destination is one of the best.
If you see a manta ray, make no sudden movements. Do not duck dive to get a closer look. Relax, swim gently and take in the extraordinary spectacle. These are our riding instructions as we prepare to snorkel near Eagle Rock, a tiny island in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat region, an eco-tourism hotspot renowned for pristine tropical reefs and spectacular marine life. Eagle Rock is a manta “cleaning station”, a place the rays come to meet the small wrasse fish that nibble their dead skin and piggybacking parasites as they gracefully circle.
Sudden movements, we are warned, will scare away the mantas. It will also interrupt their necessary hygiene ritual, thereby increasing the environmental pressure on this beautiful species.
We are four days into an eight-day cruise on a liveaboard dive boat, Pearl of Papua, which operates out of the port of Sorong with regular itineraries to show scuba divers and snorkellers the wonders of Raja Ampat.
Our group of snorkellers is full of anticipation. We have been doing three swims a day, each in a new place, and have already witnessed the amazing proliferation of life on the reefs. When the sun is out, the colours in the coral are vibrant and we are often surrounded by countless fish. We see the bizarre lion fish, its tiny body surrounded by huge spikes, as well as turtles, octopus and giant clams. We’ve learnt that the best strategy is to dive down and look under rocks. Irwan, our guide, leads the way. His sharp eyes miss nothing and under his tutelage, we are soon noticing so much more.
Seeing a manta would top off our extraordinary week. With a unique, otherworldly form, they are unlike anything else in the tropical sea. Their wide horizontal fins look like huge wings, and they appear to fly in slow motion, each gentle flap propelling them forward. Their two horns, positioned either side of a slit mouth designed to harvest plankton, give them an alien appearance. As they cruise over a reef, they look like giant futuristic spaceships seeking a place to land.
Unfortunately the sky is overcast the morning we arrive and the visibility in the water is not as good as it would be on a bright, sunny day. But Irwan is optimistic. He has already handed out bespoke necklaces he’s made featuring a manta carved from shell. Surely these will be talismans, an omen for a manta encounter.
We enter the water but no manta are visible from the surface. Irwan dives several times to see if any are swimming deeper. Once, as he returns to the surface, he gives the manta signal, arms at his side, waving both simultaneously. He’s spotted one far below. We wait, as motionless as possible on the surface, hoping it will come up to our zone of visibility. Sadly, it doesn’t and we end our Eagle Rock swim disappointed.
But hope is not extinguished. Pearl of Papua has introduced thousands of divers and snorkellers to Raja Ampat and manta are frequently seen. The boat has hosted film makers, including crews from David Attenborough’s Life on Earth series and Discovery’s Shark Week program. Owner and cruise director Yayu Yuniar says an international production company recently chartered the vessel to shoot footage for a major movie premiering soon. In the search for extraordinary sea life we’re in good hands.
We weigh anchor at Eagle Rock and head north. Crossing the equator in the early afternoon, we soon arrive at Wayag, one of Raja Ampat’s jewels. It has small, closely packed islands, karst formations that rise high out of the water like hats. The shallow water between them teems with coral and fish – and, in some spots, manta rays. So we go into the water again, and see many other amazing things, but still no manta.
The next day we explore Wayag, climbing one of the tallest karsts to take in the astonishing view of the islands and the surrounding vivid blue water. We have breakfast on a beach and swim with friendly black-tipped sharks just offshore.
After rejoining the boat we head south, fearing the opportunity to see manta rays may have passed us by. Never mind, we have seen so many other extraordinary things.
But that afternoon we halt at Pulau Kawe to explore another reef. Wind and currents have brought flotsam into the bay and Irwan, ever sharp eyed, spies tiny frog fish swimming around clumps of sea weed torn from a reef by a storm. The marooned fish would die away from their usual habitat, so he catches them in a bottle to return to the reef at our snorkel spot.
After the swim we reboard and stow our gear, satisfied with another amazing day. Suddenly the cry goes up: “Manta.” We rush to the deck above and peer over the side.
There it is. A manta ray, slowly and deliberately going about its mission. The same wind and currents that pushed flotsam into the bay have also brought plankton, the manta’s favourite food. We watch, awed, as the giant ray cruises around, breaking the surface as it scoops plankton into its gaping maw. For us, it is third time lucky.
In the know
Pearl of Papua is a liveaboard dive boat offering eight to 11-day itineraries in Raja Ampat. Departures are from Sorong, capital of Southwest Papua province of Indonesia, which can be reached by air from Denpasar (Bali), Jakarta or Makassar. From $US370-$US400 ($570-$615) a person a night or $US5150 a night for a full charter of up to 15 guests. Included are up to four dives or snorkel excursions a day with a professional dive guide, all meals and snacks, shore excursions, and return transfers from Sorong airport.
Tim Dodd was a guest of Pearl of Papua.
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