Komodo · Indonesia · Drift · Channel & pass
The Cauldron
Ripping current fires you through into China Shop
Area photo: Hotel Kaesong · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Cauldron, also called Shotgun, is one of Komodo's most popular dive sites and sits at the north end of the park, in the passage between Gili Lawa Laut and Gili Lawa Darat. It is famous for its ripping currents, and the dive is built around them: the flow picks you up and shoots you, like a shotgun, into China Shop, the protected coral garden next door where the dive finishes.
Also known as Shotgun, The Passage.
Where it is and how deep
8.4586° S, 119.5614° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The whole dive is a piece of water moving. The Cauldron is famous for its ripping currents, and the plan is to get in on the right part of the tide, drop fast and let the flow take you rather than fight it. The bottom of the passage is only 20 metres or so down, so depth is never the problem here — position in the water column is, and because the current does the work the dive covers a lot of ground for very little swimming.
The finish is what gives the site its second name. The current shoots you, like a shotgun, out of The Cauldron and into China Shop, a protected coral garden where the water calms down and the dive ends among reef instead of flow. It is described as one of Komodo's most popular dives and squarely a thrill-seeker's dive, which is a fair description of the entry as well as the ride.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Komodo: June–October brings the strongest upwelling and best visibility; the wetter December–March period is manta season at the southern sites.
Know before you go
- Ripping current: this only works on the right tidal window, and getting the timing wrong turns a fast ride into an uncontrolled one. Guides brief the exit into China Shop before you get in.
Questions divers ask
How deep is The Cauldron in Komodo?+
It is a shallow site: the bottom of the passage between Gili Lawa Laut and Gili Lawa Darat is only about 20 metres down, so the dive is about handling the current rather than managing depth.
Why is The Cauldron called Shotgun?+
Because of what the current does at the end of the dive: the flow shoots you, like a shotgun, out of The Cauldron and into China Shop, the protected coral garden next door where the dive finishes.
Sources
- The Cauldron - Scubago — Scubago
- Komodo Dive Sites — Dive The World
- Labuan Bajo — Wikipedia
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
Soft-coral mound with sharks holding in the flow
Reef
A sloping northern passage dived on generally strong current
Rock corridors on the south coast where the mantas feed
Similar dives elsewhere
Three current-cut canyons and an old Spanish anchor at 30 m
A tidal channel drift you ride rather than swim
Drift the channel either way, depending on flood or ebb
A long drift over a coral plateau at 12 to 18 metres