The Arch, Ternate Island, Alor, Indonesia « Dive Sites

On the sixth day of our trip, we were to have two last dives in Alor islands, before sailing back towards Flores. By this time, we were resigned to the fact that in Alor, night dives are much better than day dives. But boy, did we underestimate Alor! It turned out that the last two dives were, beyond doubt, the best dives of the trip.

The Arch, a wall site at Ternate Island, was possibly the prettiest wall I have seen so far. It had an interesting topography - plenty of cmall caves and overhangs, completely covered in an abundance of healthy soft corals. Huge tubastrea corals were all over the place, as well as very large gorgonians. If I didn't have a regulator in my mouth, my jaw would be hanging open for a whole hour. It was simply beautiful - definitely a Kodak moment. I spent a lot of the time just peeking into caves, moving to see an overhang closer or moving back to see the big picture. It was an unforgettable site.

Notes from Mia: This site is definitely my favourite amongst all the places to dive in Alor Islands. The soft corals are maginificents, a truly jaw-dropping sight. Combine that with the warm water warm and no current – you’ll have a superb experience here, despite the lack of pelagic.

Written by: Irene Pramudito