Magic Mountain
Conditions & tides
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Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Magic Mountain is an offshore pinnacle in the Misool area of southern Raja Ampat, rising to 8 metres at its shallowest point and dropping to 25 metres at the base, within a 1,220 square-kilometre marine reserve roughly 4 hours' sailing south of Dampier Strait. The site is reef bottom, with the pinnacle itself hosting active manta cleaning stations and dense aggregations of sweetlips large enough to form a solid wall of fish.
The marine life at Magic Mountain centres on mantas, which visit the cleaning stations in encounters that tend to be more intimate than at busier sites due to the low diver density in southern Misool. The site is also known for schools of sweetlips and is accessible by liveaboard.
Conditions require a solid skill level: the site is rated Advanced Open Water as a minimum, with moderate current and the general strong-current hazards associated with Raja Ampat seamounts. Visibility is good in the best season, which runs October through April when seas are calm; June through August can bring rougher conditions to southern Raja Ampat. At peak season the site sees far fewer boats than northern Raja Ampat, typically one to three per day at most.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Napoleon WrasseCheilinus undulatusReported here · unconfirmed
Clown TriggerfishBalistoides conspicillumReported here · unconfirmed
Emperor AngelfishPomacanthus imperatorReported here · unconfirmed
Bigeye SnapperLutjanus lutjanusReported here · unconfirmed
Freckled HawkfishParacirrhites forsteriReported here · unconfirmed
Bigeye TrevallyCaranx sexfasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
Bignose UnicornfishNaso vlamingiiReported here · unconfirmed
Threespot AngelfishApolemichthys trimaculatusReported here · unconfirmed
Clark's AnemonefishAmphiprion clarkiiReported here · unconfirmed
Giant TrevallyCaranx ignobilisReported here · unconfirmed
Manta rayManta rayConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
BarracudaBarracudaConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
GrouperGrouperConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
WrasseWrasseReported here · unconfirmed
SnapperSnapperReported here · unconfirmed
BatfishBatfishReported here · unconfirmed
WobbegongWobbegongReported here · unconfirmed
TrevallyTrevallyConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
FusilierFusilierConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
SurgeonfishSurgeonfishReported here · unconfirmed
Napoleon (humphead) wrasseNapoleon (humphead) wrasseConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
SweetlipsSweetlipsReported here · unconfirmed
Bumphead parrotfishBumphead parrotfishReported here · unconfirmed
Eagle rayEagle rayReported here · unconfirmed
LionfishLionfishReported here · unconfirmed
OctopusOctopusReported here · unconfirmed
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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