Cape Bendara
Cape Bendara is a dive site in Komodo, Indonesia. It lies within the Komodo National Park. Currents typically run at 0.9 km/h and reach 2.3 km/h on the strongest days. Water temperatures range from 27°C in July to 30°C in March. The typical daily tidal range is about 2.1 m. Species recorded in the area include Giant Moray, Cryptopodia laevimana, Whitetip Reef Shark, Blue-spotted Cornetfish and Australian Bluespotted Maskray.
Dive Conditions
Data sources: currents and water temperature from Open-Meteo Marine (CC BY 4.0), hourly model values 2024. Tidal range is the median daily range of modelled sea level from Open-Meteo Marine, hourly values 2024. Protected area boundary from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Species observations from iNaturalist, checked against the World Register of Marine Species.
Conditions at Cape Bendara through the year
Sea surface temperature at the site coordinates, averaged per month from hourly model values for 2024. The water is warmest in March at about 30 °C and coolest in July at about 27 °C, a spread of 2.9 degrees across the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29.7 | 29.8 | 30.1 | 29.4 | 28.6 | 28.2 | 27.2 | 27.2 | 27.7 | 28.5 | 29.8 | 29.9 |
Ocean current at the site runs at a typical 0.9 km/h. In the strongest tenth of the hours modelled for 2024 it reaches 2.3 km/h, which is when entries are normally timed to slack water at the turn of the tide.
The tide moves the water level by a median 2.1 m over a day, and by up to 2.9 m on the largest days of the month. That range drives how much water is exchanged over the reef and when the current turns.
In the open sea off Cape Bendara, the highest wave of the day exceeded 1.5 m on 9.4 % of days between 2015 and 2024. The roughest month was July (31 % of days), the calmest November (0 %).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 24 | 31 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Cape Bendara lies inside Komodo National Park. Protected areas can carry their own rules on entry fees, permits, anchoring and fishing; check the current rules with a local operator before you dive.
How Cape Bendara compares
These comparisons use only the measured values above, set against the 376 dive sites published on findadive.com. A percentage shows the share of other sites with a lower (or higher) value, so it reads the same way wherever the site is. Cape Bendara sits with its tidal range in the top tenth of all listed sites.
| Measure | This site | Compared with all sites | Median in Komodo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean water temperature | 28.8 °C | cooler than 82 % of the other 375 sites | 28.8 °C (68 sites) |
| Water temperature in the coolest month | 27.2 °C | cooler than 86 % of the other 375 sites | 27.9 °C (68 sites) |
| Typical current | 0.9 km/h | weaker than 62 % of the other 375 sites | 1.2 km/h (68 sites) |
| Current in the strongest 10 % of hours | 2.3 km/h | weaker than 50 % of the other 375 sites | 2.7 km/h (68 sites) |
| Median daily tidal range | 2.1 m | larger than 93 % of the other 375 sites | 1.5 m (68 sites) |
Water temperature, current and tide from Open-Meteo Marine (CC BY 4.0), hourly model values for 2024 at -8.7526°, 119.4477°. Protected area boundary from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Wave statistics from ERA5-Ocean via Open-Meteo Marine (contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2015–2024), daily maximum wave height on a 0.5° grid; land shelter tested against Natural Earth coastlines.
Marine life recorded at this site
Research-grade observations from iNaturalist within about 12 km of these coordinates.
