Manta Sandy

Manta Sandy is a shallow coral-reef site in Raja Ampat’s Dampier Strait centered on a major manta ray cleaning station. The site has a sandy channel and scattered coral bommies with a flat sandy patch at about 16-20 m between two small coral outcrops where reef and oceanic mantas regularly visit to be serviced by cleaner fish. Dives are boat entries with depths generally from 5 to 20 m and water temperatures around 28-30 °C. A mild to moderate current flows through the channel, bringing plankton and attracting mantas; visibility is usually good but varies with plankton. Divers descend the sloping reef to the sandy bottom and commonly line up behind a coral rubble line at the cleaning station; heavy dive traffic is managed by rangers, codes of conduct, and limits on group sizes.