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Gaja Rock

📍 Komodo, Indonesia

Fire Dartfish (Nemateleotris magnifica) — recorded at Gaja Rock

Gaja Rock is a dive site in Komodo, Indonesia. It lies within the Komodo National Park. Currents typically run at 0.9 km/h and reach 1.8 km/h on the strongest days. Water temperatures range from 26°C in July to 30°C in December. The typical daily tidal range is about 2.2 m. Species recorded in the area include Titan Triggerfish, Reef Manta Ray, Fire Dartfish, Blue Linckia and Blackeye Thicklip.

Dive Conditions

💨
Current
0.9 km/h (1.8)
🌡️
Water Temp
26–30 °C

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Typical Current 0.9 km/h (up to 1.8)
Water Temperature 26–30 °C
Tidal Range 2.2 m (typical daily)
Protected Area Komodo National Park
GPS -8.7383°, 119.4820°

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 Gaja Rock through the year

Sea surface temperature at the site coordinates, averaged per month from hourly model values for 2024. The water is warmest in December at about 30 °C and coolest in July at about 26 °C, a spread of 3.7 degrees across the year.

Monthly sea surface temperature at Gaja Rock (°C)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
29.7 29.7 30.0 29.3 27.8 27.2 26.4 26.6 27.3 28.4 29.7 30.1

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 1.8 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 2.2 m over a day, and by up to 3.0 m on the largest days of the month. That range drives how much water is exchanged over the reef and when the current turns.

Offshore wave statistics are not shown for Gaja Rock: within 10 km of the site there is land in the directions from which 96 % of the larger waves in the area arrive, so open-sea values would overstate the swell at the site itself.

Gaja Rock 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 Gaja Rock on a shoreline reef flat, over a seabed mapped as coral and algae.

How Gaja Rock 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. Gaja Rock sits with its mean water temperature in the bottom tenth and its coolest-month water temperature in the bottom tenth of all listed sites.

Gaja Rock compared with all listed sites and with Komodo
MeasureThis siteCompared with all sitesMedian in Komodo
Mean water temperature28.5 °Ccooler than 93 % of the other 375 sites28.8 °C (68 sites)
Water temperature in the coolest month26.4 °Ccooler than 94 % of the other 375 sites27.9 °C (68 sites)
Typical current0.9 km/hweaker than 62 % of the other 375 sites1.2 km/h (68 sites)
Current in the strongest 10 % of hours1.8 km/hweaker than 63 % of the other 375 sites2.7 km/h (68 sites)
Median daily tidal range2.2 mlarger than 95 % of the other 375 sites1.5 m (68 sites)

Water temperature, current and tide from Open-Meteo Marine (CC BY 4.0), hourly model values for 2024 at -8.7383°, 119.4820°. 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.

Titan Triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens)
Titan Triggerfish Balistoides viridescens A large, robust triggerfish with a dark body, pale greenish-grey face and a black mask. It is territorial, especially when nesting.to 75 cm · 1-50 m · by dayouter reef slopes and lagoonsGive nesting fish a wide berth; it will defend its cone-shaped nest on the sand aggressively. (c) R Vasconcellos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Reef Manta Ray (Mobula alfredi)
Reef Manta Ray Mobula alfredi A large, flat ray with a dark grey to black upper side and white underside, often with distinctive shoulder patches. It swims by flapping its wing-like pectoral fins.to 5.5 m wingspan · surface to 30 m · day and nightnear coral reefs, cleaning stations, and channelsObserve from a distance at cleaning stations; mantas will circle the area repeatedly, allowing for extended viewing. (c) R Vasconcellos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Fire Dartfish (Nemateleotris magnifica)
Fire Dartfish Nemateleotris magnifica A slender, brightly coloured fish with a white body, yellow head and a long, trailing dorsal fin. It hovers above its burrow, darting inside when threatened.to 9 cm · 6-70 m · by daysandy or rubble bottoms near reef slopesLook for a small hole in the sand; the fish will be hovering just above it and will retreat if approached too quickly. (c) R Vasconcellos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Blue Linckia (Linckia laevigata)
Blue Linckia Linckia laevigata A bright blue starfish with five long, cylindrical arms, often seen on coral rubble or reef slopes.to 30 cm diameter · 1-20 m · day and nightcoral rubble, reef slopes, and seagrass bedsLook for its intense blue colour against the reef substrate; it moves slowly and is often solitary. (c) R Vasconcellos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Blackeye Thicklip (Hemigymnus melapterus)
Blackeye Thicklip Hemigymnus melapterus A large, robust wrasse with a distinct colour change from dark front to pale rear, often seen foraging on the reef.to 90 cm · 1-30 m · by daycoral-rich areas of lagoons and seaward reefsLook for it turning over rubble and coral fragments with its snout while searching for prey. (c) Heather Dawnstar Sabin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Yellowtail Demoiselle (Neopomacentrus azysron)
Yellowtail Demoiselle Neopomacentrus azysron A small, dark blue damselfish with a bright yellow tail and a yellow patch on the pectoral fin base.to 8 cm · 1-25 m · by daycoral-rich areas of lagoons and outer reefsLook for small groups hovering above branching corals, especially Acropora, which they use for shelter. (c) amfstocker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Chocolate Chip Sea Star (Protoreaster nodosus)
Chocolate Chip Sea Star Protoreaster nodosus A sea star with a tan to brown body covered in dark, conical tubercles resembling chocolate chips.to 30 cm diameter · 0-30 m · day and nightsandy and seagrass areas, sometimes on reef flatsLook for its distinctive shape and pattern on open, soft substrates, often partially buried. (c) R Vasconcellos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Pale Monocle Bream (Scolopsis affinis)
Pale Monocle Bream Scolopsis affinis A slender, silvery-white bream with a distinctive black stripe running from the eye to the tail, often seen foraging alone or in small groups.to 30 cm · 5-40 m · by daysandy and rubble areas adjacent to coral reefsWatch for it hovering just above the sand, using its pectoral fins to disturb the bottom to uncover prey. no rights reserved · CC0 · observation