Raja Ampat · Indonesia · Wall · Reef
Arno's Underwater Reef
Overhang at 28-35 m with the wall dropping past 50
Area photo: Buena Ventura · CC BY 3.0
A drop-off with a large overhang running from 28 to 35 metres and wall below it continuing past 50, finishing on a soft coral garden that comes up to 5 metres. On the best days the current runs strong, which is what makes the site work and also what makes it a dive for people who are comfortable moving against water.
Where it is and how deep
0.5728° S, 130.5542° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Start close to the drop-off. That is the one piece of route advice the site comes with, and the reason for it is the current: on the most favourable days it runs strong, and anyone who drops in short of the wall spends the first part of the dive finning to reach it. Fins that move you efficiently matter here, because time spent covering ground at depth is time coming off your no-decompression limit.
The feature is a large overhang between 28 and 35 metres, with the wall carrying on below 50. That lower ground is there but it is not the recreational dive; most divers work the overhang and then come up the wall. The dive ends on a soft coral garden that rises to about 5 metres, which is the natural place to run out a safety stop rather than hanging in open water.
Nothing is published on the visibility or water temperature specific to this site, so the area figures apply. Plan the profile before you get in: the combination of a deep first feature and current that has to be swum against is what turns an easy wall into a dive with a decompression obligation.
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 | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Raja Ampat: October–April brings calmer seas and the clearest water; June–August SE winds roughen southern Misool crossings.
Know before you go
- The current can run strong on the best days; start the dive close to the drop-off rather than swimming to it, and carry a surface marker for the pickup.
- The overhang is at 28-35 m with the wall going past 50, so the deco clock runs fast. Set a hard turn depth and time before descending.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Arno's Underwater Reef?+
The overhang sits between 28 and 35 metres and the wall carries on deeper than 50. The recreational profile runs from that overhang back up to a soft coral garden at around 5 metres.
Sources
- Arno's Underwater Reef dive site — ScubaGo
More dive sites in Raja Ampat
Reef
Reef hook dive at 10-12 m in very strong current
Reef
Five Rocks: a repeat-request reef to around 24 m
House reef from the jetty at 2 m down to 20 m
Pinnacle
Cleaning stations on the summit, mantas on the flanks in season
Fish fill the water before your BCD is finished deflating
Coral garden
Shallow mixed coral reef, best between 3 and 14 m
Wall
Soft corals, black coral and gorgonians from 26 m to 2 m
Wall
Drift along a sloping wall with sharks and fish schools
Similar dives elsewhere
Coral outcrops one side of the village, a wall past 40 m on the other.
Sea fans and frogfish on a wall, a 150-year-old wreck below
A channel wall to 35 m with a current that runs hard
Two swim-through windows carved into one small island