Banda Islands

The Banda Islands are a small volcanic archipelago far out in the Banda Sea, part of Indonesia's Maluku province, and they are as rich in history as in reef. These were the original Spice Islands, the only source of nutmeg in the world for centuries, and the old forts and colonial town on Banda Neira still stand above the anchorage. Underwater the Bandas are known for steep volcanic walls and for the crossing of the open Banda Sea itself, a passage that liveaboards make for two of the ocean's harder-to-find spectacles: schooling scalloped hammerheads over the seamounts and remarkable numbers of sea snakes on the reefs. Napoleon wrasse, barracuda and passing whale sharks work the walls, and the reefs shelter mandarinfish and dense macro life. One of the signature dives sits below the volcano Gunung Api, where a lava flow from the 1988 eruption has regrown into a fast, thriving hard-coral reef, a living record of how quickly these waters recover. This is remote, deep-water, current-exposed diving reached only by liveaboard, and it suits experienced divers.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Napoleon (humphead) wrasseNapoleon (humphead) wrasseReported here · unconfirmed
• Whale SharkRhincodon typusReported here · unconfirmed
• Gonodactylellus viridisReported here · unconfirmed
• Common Lettuce CoralPectinia lactucaReported here · unconfirmed
• Diploastrea helioporaReported here · unconfirmed
• Pearl Bubble CoralPhysogyra lichtensteiniReported here · unconfirmed
• Raccoon ButterflyfishChaetodon lunulaReported here · unconfirmed
• Danafungia scruposaReported here · unconfirmed
• Blue-headed WrasseThalassoma amblycephalumReported here · unconfirmed
• BarracudaBarracudaReported here · unconfirmed
• NudibranchNudibranchReported here · unconfirmed