Reefwander
A school of striped batfish hovers beside a sea fan inside a sunlit reef cavern in Raja Ampat.

Raja Ampat · Indonesia · Pinnacle · Drift

Eagle Rock

Manta cleaning stations in the channels between three pinnacles

Area photo: Buena Ventura · CC BY 3.0

Eagle Rock lies off the southern coast of Kawe Island, where three rock pinnacles stand on steep slopes covered in hard and soft corals and gorgonian fans. Plankton-rich currents run through the channels between the pinnacles, which hold manta cleaning stations. Divers come for the mantas and for the sharks and fish schools around the rocks.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Eagle Rock: typical dive 5–25 m (15–82 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit5 m25 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

No published position for this site — the map shows Raja Ampat and its other sites; operators know the mooring.

The dive

Divers drop near the fringing ledge at 5 m and descend along the slope that faces the current, typically the southeast side. At 25 m they drift with the current around the bommies and rock formations, watching for mantas feeding or being cleaned. Halfway through, they work up the mini-walls, sheltering from the current to spot sharks and schools of fish.

Marine life and season

  • Manta rays
  • Reef sharks
  • Wobbegongs
  • Trevally & jacks
  • Barracuda
  • Reef fish swarms
Month-by-month season rating for Eagle Rock
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodFairFairFairGoodPrimePrime

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.

Sources

  1. Diving Raja Ampat, West Papua - Indonesia — Dive The World
  2. Kawe — Mermaid Liveaboards
  3. Diving in Raja Ampat: Liveaboards, Resorts & Guide — Dive The World

More dive sites in Raja Ampat

Reef hook dive at 10-12 m in very strong current

10–12 madvanced

Muck & macro

Schooling jacks hunting silversides under the village jetty

3–19 mintermediate

Five Rocks: a repeat-request reef to around 24 m

to 24 mintermediate

Pinnacle

Cleaning stations on the summit, mantas on the flanks in season

7–30 madvanced

Fish fill the water before your BCD is finished deflating

to 40 madvanced

A drift from schooling fish on the point to macro on the slope

to 40 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

Pinnacle

Twin Tunnels

Iron Bottom Sound · Solomon Islands

Two lava tubes through the reef top, exiting in a cave at 35 m

12–45 m · max 60 madvanced

Pinnacle

Pinnacles

Pulau Aur & Pulau Dayang · Malaysia

Three rocks topping out just under the surface, ringed by batfish and jacks

to 30 madvanced

Pinnacle

Sahaung

Bangka Island · Indonesia

Elephant ear sponges and soft coral on rocks that break the surface

5–35 madvanced

Pinnacle

Three Sisters

Komodo · Indonesia

Giant trevally patrolling three coral-covered pinnacles off Padar

to 30 m · max 40 mintermediate