Komodo · Indonesia · Reef · Coral garden
Secret Garden
Rhinopias and blue-ringed octopus among shallow coral bommies
Area photo: Siharaditia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Secret Garden is a gently sloping reef in Komodo National Park with coral bommies in the shallows and soft corals that host big schools of reef fish. The current is mild, and the slope is known for ghost pipefish, cuttlefish and rarer finds such as rhinopias and blue-ringed octopus.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Komodo and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The reef slopes gently from 10 m to 25 m. In the shallows, coral bommies and soft corals carry huge schools of reef fish. Ghost pipefish, cuttlefish and nudibranchs are common along the slope, and the rarer sightings include rhinopias, blue-ringed octopus and mobula rays passing off the reef.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
- Mobula rays
| 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.
Sources
- Komodo dive sites — Pinta Liveaboard
- Secret Garden dive site — 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
Banded sea kraits crawling openly over a sunken plateau
Lionfish and scorpionfish resting on table and brain corals
An easy north-coast reef on the Napaling and Doljo road trip
The protected shallows where Balicasag's turtles are thickest