Reefwander
A manta ray glides over the reef against the current at Manta Point in Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Komodo · Indonesia · Reef

Torpedo Alley

A flat southern slope of patchy reef, weed and rock

Area photo: Siharaditia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Torpedo Alley lies in the southern area of Komodo National Park, where the bottom is a flat slope of patchy coral reef, vegetation and rock down to 20 m. The site is rated as suitable for all levels of divers, and the shallow, low-relief ground is a change from the pinnacles and channels further north.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Torpedo Alley: typical dive to 20 m (to 66 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit20 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

8.7786° S, 119.6541° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

The ground here is low and open: a flat slope with patchy coral reef, vegetation and rock rather than a continuous wall of coral, and the deepest part of it is 20 m. That makes the dive a search rather than a route. You work slowly across the patches, and the shallow maximum depth means bottom time is generous by Komodo standards.

The site is listed as suitable for all levels of divers, which along with the depth makes it one of the more relaxed dives in the park. It sits in the south, where the water can arrive cold and green with plankton on the upwelling, so the exposure protection that suits the northern sites is often not enough on this side of the park.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Torpedo Alley
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimeGoodPrimeGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodPrime

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

  • No current strength is published for this southern site, and the cold, plankton-green water that arrives on the upwelling can make it a colder dive than the profile suggests.

Questions divers ask

How deep is Torpedo Alley?+

The maximum depth is 20 m, on a flat slope of patchy coral reef, vegetation and rock. The site is listed as suitable for all levels of divers, so depth is not the limiting factor here.

Sources

  1. Torpedo Alley - Scubago — Scubago

More dive sites in Komodo

Pinnacle

A holed rock at the surface, a coral-covered pinnacle below

10–25 m · max 70 madvanced

Big-fish habitat in a current that usually runs strong

to 35 madvanced

Muck & macro

Soft coral and macro on a rock in the cold south of the park

10–25 m · max 45 madvanced

Seamount

A submerged pinnacle where the sharks hold in the current

10–25 madvanced

Coral garden

The sheltered coral garden at the end of the Cauldron ride

to 20 mbeginner

A calm northern bay for skills practice near Crystal Rock

to 16 mbeginner

Seamount

Soft-coral mound with sharks holding in the flow

10–25 madvanced

A sloping northern passage dived on generally strong current

to 25 madvanced

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