Home › Dive Sites › Indonesia › Komodo › Pengah Kecil

Pengah Kecil

📍 Komodo, Indonesia

Snowflake Moray (Echidna nebulosa) — recorded at Pengah Kecil

Pengah Kecil is a dive site in Komodo, Indonesia. It lies within the Komodo National Park. The sea floor at the site position lies at about 21 meters. Currents typically run at 1.2 km/h and reach 2.3 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 Nasal-flap moray, Snowflake Moray, Melibe colemani, Three-spot Dascyllus and Sixband Angelfish.

Dive Conditions

⬇️
Seabed Depth
21m
💨
Current
1.2 km/h (2.3)
🌡️
Water Temp
28–30 °C

🤿 Book a Diving Tour in Pengah Kecil

Tours powered by GetYourGuide. FindADive may earn a commission on bookings.

Typical Current 1.2 km/h (up to 2.3)
Seabed Depth 21 m
Water Temperature 28–30 °C
Tidal Range 1.3 m (typical daily)
Protected Area Komodo National Park
GPS -8.5763°, 119.6809°

Data sources: currents and water temperature from Open-Meteo Marine (CC BY 4.0), hourly model values 2024; seabed depth from the GEBCO 2020 Grid, sampled at the site coordinates (grid resolution about 450 m). 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 Pengah Kecil 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.

Monthly sea surface temperature at Pengah Kecil (°C)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
28.5 28.4 29.0 29.5 29.5 28.8 28.3 28.0 28.2 29.0 30.2 29.6

Ocean current at the site runs at a typical 1.2 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 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 Pengah Kecil, 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 %).

Share of days with waves above 1.5 m, open sea near Pengah Kecil (%, 2015–2024)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
511000000002

The seabed directly under the site coordinates sits at about 21 m. This is a bathymetry grid value with a cell size of roughly 450 m, so it describes the depth of the area rather than the deepest point a dive can reach.

Pengah Kecil 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 Pengah Kecil on a deep lagoon, over a seabed mapped as coral and algae. The classification comes from the nearest mapped reef polygon, about 55 m from the listed coordinates, so it describes the reef the site sits on rather than a single point on it.

How Pengah Kecil 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.

Pengah Kecil compared with all listed sites and with Komodo
MeasureThis siteCompared with all sitesMedian in Komodo
Mean water temperature28.9 °Ccooler than 77 % of the other 375 sites28.8 °C (68 sites)
Water temperature in the coolest month28.0 °Ccooler than 64 % of the other 375 sites27.9 °C (68 sites)
Typical current1.2 km/hstronger than 54 % of the other 375 sites1.2 km/h (68 sites)
Current in the strongest 10 % of hours2.3 km/hweaker than 50 % of the other 375 sites2.7 km/h (68 sites)
Median daily tidal range1.3 msmaller than 60 % 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 -8.5763°, 119.6809°. Seabed depth from the GEBCO 2020 Grid. 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.

Nasal-flap moray (Gymnothorax longinaris)
Nasal-flap moray Gymnothorax longinaris A moray eel with a distinctive nasal flap, often seen with its head protruding from a crevice. Its body is patterned with irregular dark spots.to 60 cm · 5-25 m · at nightrocky crevices and coral rubbleLook for its head poking out from holes; it is more visible at night when it emerges to hunt. (c) jeyre, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Snowflake Moray (Echidna nebulosa)
Snowflake Moray Echidna nebulosa A pale moray eel with a dense pattern of black and yellow spots and blotches, often seen with its head protruding from a crevice.to 1 m · 1-50 m · at nightcoral reefs and rubble areasLook for its head poking out from holes during the day; it is more active and visible after dusk. no rights reserved · CC0 · observation
Melibe colemani (Melibe colemani)
Melibe colemani Melibe colemani A small nudibranch with a translucent body and a large oral hood fringed with sensory tentacles, which it uses to capture plankton.to 3 cm · 10-30 m · day and nightsandy or rubble substrates near coral reefsLook for its distinctive feeding motion, sweeping its hood through the water column, often at night. (c) Bernard Picton, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Three-spot Dascyllus (Dascyllus trimaculatus)
Three-spot Dascyllus Dascyllus trimaculatus A small, deep-bodied damselfish, black with a white spot on each side and one on the forehead. Juveniles are jet black with the three white spots.to 14 cm · 1-55 m · by daycoral heads, especially branching Acropora, or large anemonesLook for small groups sheltering in a single coral head; they dart in and out when approached. (c) Rui Ribeiro, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Sixband Angelfish (Pomacanthus sexstriatus)
Sixband Angelfish Pomacanthus sexstriatus A large angelfish with a dark body crossed by six pale vertical bands, often seen grazing on sponges and tunicates.to 46 cm · 3-30 m · by dayouter reef slopes and drop-offsLook for it swimming alone near large coral bommies; it is often shy and will retreat into crevices if approached. (c) Rui Ribeiro, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Scissor-tailed Fusilier (Caesio caerulaurea)
Scissor-tailed Fusilier Caesio caerulaurea A slender, fast-swimming fish with a bright blue back and yellow tail, often seen in large schools above the reef.to 35 cm · 1-50 m · by daymid-water above outer reef slopes and drop-offsLook for shimmering blue schools in open water; they often feed on plankton carried by currents. (c) Rui Ribeiro, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Ambon Damsel (Pomacentrus amboinensis)
Ambon Damsel Pomacentrus amboinensis A small, bright yellow damselfish with a single black spot on the rear dorsal fin and a blue ring around the eye.to 10 cm · 1-12 m · by daybranches of Acropora corals on reef slopesLook for it darting among the branches of staghorn corals; it retreats into the coral when approached. no rights reserved · CC0 · observation
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. no rights reserved · CC0 · observation