Manta Ray Cleaning Station — Komodo Indonesia
The manta ray cleaning station at Manta Point on Komodo Island's southwestern tip — where oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris) up to 5 metres wingspan queue at the cleaning station's coral bommie to be serviced by wrasse and angelfish that remove parasites from the manta's gills and skin — produces one of Indonesia's finest diving encounters year-round. The mantas' patient hovering behaviour at the cleaning station — the ray holding position against the current with wings barely moving, the cleaning fish working the skin folds near the gills — allows divers to observe the full interaction at 2-metre range for 3–5 minutes per ray, and the station's multiple simultaneous visitors (5–8 mantas in queue at peak times) create an underwater spectacle of the highest quality. Manta Point's combination with Komodo Dragon trekking on Rinca Island and the extraordinary fish diversity of the Coral Triangle waters makes Komodo one of the Indo-Pacific's finest single-destination wildlife experiences.
About this spectacle
At Manta Point on Komodo Island's southwestern tip, oceanic manta rays with wingspans up to 5 metres glide into a coral bommie cleaning station and hover with extraordinary stillness while wrasse and angelfish work the skin folds near their gills, removing parasites. Divers can settle at 2-metre range and watch this intimate interaction play out for 3–5 minutes per ray, the manta's cephalic fins curling open, its vast white underside visible against the blue. At peak times, 5–8 mantas queue simultaneously, creating layered arcs of movement in open water. The surrounding Coral Triangle reefs deliver exceptional fish diversity as context. Visibility and current conditions define the quality of each dive — the site is best worked in morning light when mantas are most reliably present. The experience is calm, close, and prolonged: not a brief sighting but a sustained encounter with one of the ocean's largest fish behaving naturally in its own time.
When to go
Year-round
Getting there
Nearest airport: LBJ. Nearest city: Labuan Bajo.
Booking options
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