Sangalaki, Kakaban & Maratua
East Kalimantan, Indonesia
Derawan Archipelago
Located in Northeast Kalimantan, the Derawan archipelago is one of the most remote dive destinations of Indonesia that offers truly spectacular world-class diving among its 5 islands, Derawan, Maratua, Kakaban, Sangalaki, and Pulau Sambit.
Diving in Derawan Archipelago
Discover an untouched diving destination which offers everything you need for the ultimate dive safari. Located off the East Coast of Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo, the Islands of Sangalaki, Maratua, and Kakaban offer some of the most remote, uncrowded, and untouched diving spots visited by the Manta fleet. Enjoy some of the most spectacular diving in a pristine underwater paradise away from the crowds.
Keep a lookout for manta rays, schooling barracudas, jacks, tuna, and a variety of reef sharks. Even leopard, hammerhead, and thresher sharks have been known to make an appearance. Marvel at amazing soft corals, turtles, harlequin shrimps, frogfish, ribbon eels, cuttlefish, and nudibranchs. Search for whale sharks around fishing bagans (floating fishing platforms) and you may just have an opportunity to breakfast with one of the ocean’s largest sharks.
Best times to visit
While the Derawan Archipelago can be visited all year round, the best time to dive is during the months of June to August. Water temperatures range between 28 and 30°C with visibility from 10-30 meters.
In addition to the fantastic diving in this region, there are also a couple of land-based, island visits that should not be missed. Trek through a lush tropical jungle to a beautiful and tranquil freshwater jellyfish lake in Kakaban, and visit the turtle sanctuary on Sangalaki to witness baby turtles hatching and being released to the sea.
Dive Map
Sangalaki
Kakaban
Maratua
Sangalaki
Good potential for manta rays who use the island’s surrounding colourful reefs as a cleaning and breeding ground. To the North of the island are Manta avenue, Manta parade and Manta run – where the manta rays may be found feeding on a rich supply of plankton just meters from the beach. The mantas can sometimes be seen cruising down these manta highways, whilst other rays forage around for food under the sand together with the goatfish. Their wing tips break the surface at regular intervals as they circle around you. They prefer to swim close to the surface, so snorkeling or free diving is also a good way to interact with them. Sangalaki is also a renowned turtle hatching site, every day hundreds of hatching sea turtles can be seen making their dash to the ocean from their nesting sites.
Kakaban & Kakaban Lake
Kakaban is famous for it’s stunning fresh water Jelly Fish lake fringed by virgin Mangrove forest Thousands of years ago the island was naturally uplifted which isolated the marine ecosystem from the surrounding seas making all biota in this marine lake very unique with endemic critters such as four species of non-stinging jellyfishes and non-stinging anemones. Marine biologists have also found a number of unknown species of anemones, tunicates, flatworms and crustaceans in the lake. This truly is a biological paradise where everything can easily be seen snorkelling.On the seaward side of the island sheer drop offs and walls attract Huge schools of Trevally and Barracuda along with the possibility of Hammerhead, Grey Reef and Black Tip sharks.
Kakaban & Kakaban Lake
One of the most action filled destinations in the region, the walls that surround this island provide some great Big Fish dives, with massive schools of chevron barracuda, hunting trevally, thresher sharks and much much more! There are several impressive drop offs and a drift dive can be done through the channel into the lagoon. The channel entrance is at 27 meters and the strong currents attract these large pelagics. Best time to dive the channel is on an incoming or slack tide where marine life reaches a crescendo of activity, whilst coral growth is not as spectacular here due to the strong currents, pelagic action can be simply awesome!
Video Highlights
Ready to Dive?
Checkout our our schedule and book your adventure today!