Banda Islands · Indonesia · Wall
Nutmeg Drop
A gorgonian-hung wall off the island that nutmeg made famous.
Area photo: WiDi · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nutmeg Drop is the main dive site of Run Island, at the western edge of the Banda archipelago and once the epicentre of the global nutmeg trade. Underwater it is a wall hung with giant gorgonian fans and black coral trees in warm, clear water - 27-30°C with 15-30 m of visibility year-round - where hawksbill turtles are near-certain and hammerheads pass the deeper reef in October and November.
Where it is and how deep
4.5582° S, 129.6708° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
A standard dive begins with a descent to the reef wall at around 18 m, followed by a gentle drift along the coral face, which is draped with giant gorgonian fans and black coral trees. Currents here are typically mild to moderate, though some sites around the island experience stronger flows that attract pelagic action, so diving with an experienced guide is recommended.
From the wall the route moves up into mid-depth coral formations between 10 and 15 m, then onto the shallow reef at 5-8 m, where the safety stop is spent among staghorn coral gardens. Hawksbill turtles are almost guaranteed sightings on every dive and bumphead parrotfish graze the reef; from October to November, hammerhead sharks may be patrolling the deeper sections of the reef.
Background
Run Island was once the epicentre of the global nutmeg trade and the focus of 17th-century colonial conflicts. Nutmeg Drop is its premier dive site, and the island is often the first liveaboard stop out of Ambon, so the spice-trade history and the wall tend to arrive as one visit rather than two.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Hammerheads
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Fair |
Season follows Banda Islands: October–April is the main liveaboard transit season; hammerhead and mobula sightings at seamounts are seasonal, not guaranteed.
Questions divers ask
When can you see hammerheads at Nutmeg Drop?+
From October to November, divers may encounter hammerhead sharks patrolling the deeper sections of the reef. They are not a certainty; hawksbill turtles, by contrast, are almost guaranteed sightings on every dive.
How deep is Nutmeg Drop?+
A standard dive drops to the wall at around 18 m, works mid-depth coral at 10-15 m, and finishes at 5-8 m on the shallow reef for the safety stop.
Sources
- Banda Islands Dive Sites — Dive The World
- Pulau Run, Kepulauan Banda — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Banda Islands
Wall
Scorpionfish, blackspotted morays and orang-utan crabs on the face.
Pinnacle
Big pelagics turn up on the pinnacles when the current runs.
Wall
A wide step at 30 m before the wall falls away again.
Seamount
Fusiliers roll down the slope thick enough to block the view.
Hard coral grown over lava that reached the sea in 1988.
Wall
A 6 m almond-shaped swim-through at 26-30 metres.
Mobula rays pass in formations up to 25 strong.
Wall
Giant, honeycomb and snowflake morays in one small islet's wall.
Similar dives elsewhere
Thousands of barracuda wheeling into a tornado that darkens the sun
A 24 m wall dived as two sites, north and south
Predators along the wall, and a crevasse to 40 m as current shelter
A chimney through the wall, 18 m in and 8 m out