Tatawa Besar
Tatawa Besar is a dive site in Komodo, Indonesia. It lies within the Komodo National Park. Currents typically run at 3.2 km/h and reach 5.8 km/h on the strongest days. Water temperatures range from 28°C in August to 30°C in November. The typical daily tidal range is about 1.3 m. Species recorded in the area include Whitetip Reef Shark, Clark's Anemonefish, Blackback Butterflyfish, Lined Bristletooth and Redfin Butterflyfish.
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 Tatawa Besar through the year
Sea surface temperature at the site coordinates, averaged per month from hourly model values for 2024. The water is warmest in November at about 30 °C and coolest in August at about 28 °C, a spread of 2.2 degrees across the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28.4 | 28.4 | 29.0 | 29.5 | 29.3 | 28.6 | 28.1 | 27.9 | 28.2 | 28.9 | 30.1 | 29.5 |
Ocean current at the site runs at a typical 3.2 km/h. In the strongest tenth of the hours modelled for 2024 it reaches 5.8 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 1.3 m over a day, and by up to 1.8 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 Tatawa Besar, the highest wave of the day exceeded 1.5 m on 0.8 % of days between 2015 and 2024. The roughest month was January (5 % of days), the calmest April (0 %). Land within 10 km blocks some of the directions these waves come from (open to about 71 % of them), so conditions at the site are likely calmer than these open-sea values.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Tatawa Besar 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.
Satellite habitat mapping places Tatawa Besar on a reef plateau, over a seabed mapped as coral and algae.
How Tatawa Besar 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.
| Measure | This site | Compared with all sites | Median in Komodo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean water temperature | 28.8 °C | cooler than 84 % of the other 375 sites | 28.8 °C (68 sites) |
| Water temperature in the coolest month | 27.9 °C | cooler than 74 % of the other 375 sites | 27.9 °C (68 sites) |
| Typical current | 3.2 km/h | stronger than 85 % of the other 375 sites | 1.2 km/h (68 sites) |
| Current in the strongest 10 % of hours | 5.8 km/h | stronger than 85 % of the other 375 sites | 2.7 km/h (68 sites) |
| Median daily tidal range | 1.3 m | smaller than 60 % 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 -8.5297°, 119.6494°. 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. Reef structure and seabed cover from the Allen Coral Atlas © 2018–2023 Allen Coral Atlas Partnership and Arizona State University (CC BY 4.0).
Marine life recorded at this site
Research-grade observations from iNaturalist within about 12 km of these coordinates.
