Manta Ray Heaven Garden Eel Cove

Manta Ray Heaven, also called Garden Eel Cove, is a coastal black-sand site in Makako Bay off Kona International Airport known for its large daytime colony of Hawaiian garden eels and for a famous night manta-ray feeding aggregation. Divers gather around a ring of lights on the sandy bottom, where reef mantas glide overhead to feed on plankton attracted to the lights. The dive is boat-based from permanent moorings; divers typically descend to about 35 ft to sit in a loose circle around the anchored "campfire" lights. Daytime garden-eel concentrations occur on the flat sand at roughly 82 ft with nearby lava-rock outcrops and patch reef. Visibility under the lights is often excellent, about 65–82 ft, and water temperatures generally range around 70–78 °F. Currents are usually mild. Divers are instructed to avoid chasing or touching the mantas and not to shine bright lights at them; there are no unusual physical hazards beyond normal night-dive considerations and surface support from the dive boat remains nearby.