Raja Ampat · Indonesia · Pinnacle · Reef
Blue Magic
Cleaning stations on the summit, mantas on the flanks in season
Area photo: Buena Ventura · CC BY 3.0
Blue Magic is an underwater pinnacle that starts at around 7 m and bottoms out at a little under 30 m. The summit carries a spread of reef fish and several cleaning stations; the deeper flanks hold the bigger schools and the larger predators that follow them, with sharks on the mount and manta rays in season.
Where it is and how deep
0.5095° S, 130.7480° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
This is a mount dive, so the shape of it is set by where the tender drops you and which way the water is running. The top of the pinnacle sits at around 7 m and is the busiest part of the site: all sorts of reef fish across the summit, and several cleaning stations that hold small fish in one place long enough to watch what comes in to be worked over.
Dropping down the flanks, the schools get bigger and the larger predatory fish appear with them. Sharks turn up on the deeper part of the mount, and in manta season the rays come in and circle. The pinnacle bottoms out at less than 30 m, so the deep portion is brief and the rest of the dive is spent working back up towards the summit, where the fish are thickest anyway.
Marine life and season
- Manta rays
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Raja Ampat: October to April is the drier stretch and November to April the manta season at Manta Ridge; July to mid-September can bring strong winds and rough seas.
Know before you go
- Currents in Raja Ampat range from none to very strong and down currents occur, so carry a reef hook, dive the mount with a guide who knows the tide, and stay close to the reef.
Photos from Blue Magic
Rolandandika · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Raja Ampat - The Last Paradise | Blue Magic | Papua Diving | Indonesia | Fish ID | 4K · Diver's Lens on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Blue Magic?+
The pinnacle starts at about 7 m and goes down to less than 30 m, so the whole site sits inside recreational limits and the shallow summit makes a long, easy end to the dive.
Sources
- Blue Magic Dive Site | PADI — PADI
- Raja Ampat diving guide — Divezone
Photo credits
- A pygmy seahorse camouflaged on a pink sea fan at Blue Magic. by Rolandandika, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Why do you pee when diving, and tire after?Body & health · 12 min read
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