Komodo · Indonesia · Wall · Reef
Pengah Kecil
Plateaus and steep walls around a rocky central island
Area photo: Siharaditia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pengah Kecil is a rocky island in central Komodo with plateaus, steep walls and sloping reefs around it, and a maximum depth of 30 m. Currents can be strong, so the dive is chosen to suit them: guides pick the entry from the direction of the flow and work the side of the island that is not exposed to it.
Where it is and how deep
8.5862° S, 119.6933° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The island gives you three kinds of ground in one dive: plateaus, steep walls and sloping reef, down to 30 m. Which of them you see depends on the water. Currents around the island can be strong, so the dive is planned according to the position and direction of the flow, and always on the part of the island that is not exposed to it.
That makes the briefing site-specific in a way many Komodo dives are not: the entry point, the direction of travel and the turn are all set on the day rather than by a standard route. In practice the dive tends to run along a wall or plateau in sheltered water, stepping shallower onto the sloping reef as gas allows, and finishing in the lee of the rock.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Good | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Komodo: Liveaboards run all year: April is often rated the best month, July to September is the big-fish peak, and the rainy months bring the best visibility and the mantas.
Know before you go
- Currents can be strong enough to dictate the whole plan; the sheltered side of the island can stop being sheltered if the flow turns during the dive.
Questions divers ask
How is the current handled at Pengah Kecil?+
Diving is chosen according to the position and direction of the current, and always on the part of the island that is not exposed to it. Currents can be strong, so the entry point is decided on the day rather than in advance.
Sources
- Pengah Kecil - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Komodo
A holed rock at the surface, a coral-covered pinnacle below
Reef
Big-fish habitat in a current that usually runs strong
Soft coral and macro on a rock in the cold south of the park
A submerged pinnacle where the sharks hold in the current
Coral garden
The sheltered coral garden at the end of the Cauldron ride
A calm northern bay for skills practice near Crystal Rock
Soft-coral mound with sharks holding in the flow
Reef
A sloping northern passage dived on generally strong current
Similar dives elsewhere
Turtle City — greens and hawksbills on a wall to 30 m
Black-tip reef sharks hunting along a sheer coral wall
Coral slope from 3 m to a wall that drops to 30 m
Long coral and rubble slope that finishes against a wall