Raja Ampat · Indonesia · Reef
Batu Lima
Five Rocks: a repeat-request reef to around 24 m
Area photo: Buena Ventura · CC BY 3.0
Batu Lima means five rocks in Indonesian, and it is one of the sites divers here ask to repeat: guests regularly come back to it more than once in a trip. Descending on the north-eastern side takes you to the maximum depth of around 24 metres, and the reef runs unbroken from here along to the Biodiversity house reef.
Where it is and how deep
0.4494° S, 130.6991° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The described route drops in on the north-eastern side, which is the deepest part of the site and takes you to a maximum of around 24 metres. From there the dive works back shallower across the reef, which continues without a break along the shore to the Biodiversity house reef in front of the Biodiversity jetty, so there is more ground here than a single dive covers.
Beyond that the site is thinly documented. No shallow depth or visibility figures have been published for Batu Lima, and no species list either, so the plan comes from the area rather than the site: brief on the tide, keep the profile conservative given the 24 m maximum, and expect the guides to shape the route on the day. What is on record is that divers ask to come back to it.
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.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Batu Lima?+
Descending on the north-eastern side takes you to the maximum depth of around 24 metres. No shallow figure has been published for the site.
Sources
- Batu Lima dive site — ScubaGo
- Biodiversity House Reef dive site — ScubaGo
More dive sites in Raja Ampat
Reef
Reef hook dive at 10-12 m in very strong current
Overhang at 28-35 m with the wall dropping past 50
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
Reef from two metres down to sand at twenty
White sand to 15 m, no current, twenty minutes from town
Hard coral, soft coral and sea fans on a sand slope to 20 m
Reef, mini wall and coral garden from 12 m down to 30 m