Pulau Karaka
4.5080°S 129.8810°E · wall
Pulau Karaka (also known as “Crab Island”) is a small island close to Gunung Api. The site is one of the calmest and most physically accessible dives in the Banda Islands, featuring minimal currents and exceptional macro life on a sloping rocky wall with a sandy bottom.
Overview
The dive profile is a near-vertical wall dropping to a sandy slope, with bommies and coral blocks scattered across the sandy bottom at around 20–25 m. Because currents rarely run strongly here, visibility is clear and the site rewards patient, slow-paced diving. Sources describe an “amazing diversity of small creatures” at Karaka: leaf scorpionfish, ornate pipefish, ghost pipefish, and nudibranchs are the headline macro subjects, along with candy crabs reported by one source.
Yellow snappers school over the bommies. Barracuda patrol the outer edges — one source specifies chevron barracuda, another great barracuda; sources are not consistent on the exact species. Giant, honeycomb, and snowflake moray eels are commonly found in crevices and under coral blocks. Garden eels extend from the sandy slope, and Napoleon wrasse are reported by two independent sources. Titan triggerfish nest on the sand in season, and turtles are reported by one source.
Although the calm conditions and shallow maximum depth (25 m) make this an easy dive on its own, it is rated Advanced here in line with the destination’s remote, liveaboard-only access.
Dive Profile
Wall from surface to 20–25 m, transitioning to sandy slope with bommies. Weak currents. Water temperature approximately 28°C. Visibility 20–30 m.
Marine Life
- Leaf scorpionfish, ornate pipefish, ghost pipefish
- Nudibranchs (multiple species) and candy crabs
- Yellow snappers (schooling over bommies)
- Barracuda (chevron or great barracuda, depending on source)
- Napoleon wrasse; turtles (single source)
- Giant, honeycomb, and snowflake moray eels
- Garden eels on sandy slope
- Titan triggerfish (nesting)
Entry / Exit
Boat dive from liveaboard or Banda Neira day-trip vessel. The site is close to Gunung Api and within easy reach of Banda Neira. Entry is straightforward given the calm conditions.
Tips
- Excellent choice for a relaxed macro dive or night dive
- Slow down and look carefully — the macro life rewards patient divers
- Combine with Gunung Api’s Lava Flow on the same day for a contrasting wide-angle reef experience
Photography
One of the Banda Islands’ best macro sites. Calm, clear water and patient macro subjects (nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, leaf scorpionfish) suit close-up and super-macro setups. Night dives add crustacean subjects.
Sources: Bottles Up Diving - Banda Islands, Dive The World - Banda Islands, Merapi Tours - Banda Archipelago Dive Spots. Last updated 2026-07-17.
Sea-surface temperature and wave height from Open-Meteo Marine (ERA5 reanalysis, monthly averages).
1733 verified species observations (337 species) logged within ~11 km of this site between 1874 and 2025, from the Ocean Biodiversity Information System.
- Anomalops katoptron · Two-fin Flashlightfish
- Eviota nigriventris
- Thalassoma amblycephalum · Moon Wrasse
- Pomacentrus
- Meiacanthus atrodorsalis
- Amblyglyphidodon curacao
- Eviota
- Epinephelus hexagonatus · Hexagon Rockcod
- Ecsenius pictus
- Eviota rubriceps
- Myripristis
- Diodon liturosus · Black-blotched Porcupinefish
Scientific survey records skew toward sampled taxa (molluscs, corals) and do not reflect what you are guaranteed to see on a dive.
Source: OBIS (obis.org), aggregated Darwin Core occurrence records.
Conditions change with the tide and the season. If you have dived this site, share what it was actually like — date, visibility, current, and what you saw. Real, recent reports from divers are exactly what this guide is built to collect.
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