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Wainilu

📍 Komodo, Indonesia

Spine-cheek Clownfish (Amphiprion biaculeatus) - recorded at Wainilu

Wainilu is a dive site in Komodo, Indonesia. It lies within the Komodo National Park. The sea floor at the site position lies at about 40 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, Pink Skunk Anemonefish, Melibe colemani and Spine-cheek Clownfish.

Dive Conditions

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Seabed Depth
40m
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Current
1.2 km/h (2.3)
🌡️
Water Temp
28–30 °C

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Typical Current 1.2 km/h (up to 2.3)
Seabed Depth 40 m
Water Temperature 28–30 °C
Tidal Range 1.3 m (typical daily)
Protected Area Komodo National Park
GPS -8.6289°, 119.7038°

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 Wainilu 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 Wainilu (°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 Wainilu, 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 68 % of them), so conditions at the site are likely calmer than these open-sea values.

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

The seabed directly under the site coordinates sits at about 40 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.

Wainilu 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 Wainilu on a shoreline reef flat, over a seabed mapped as coral and algae. The classification comes from the nearest mapped reef polygon, about 66 m from the listed coordinates, so it describes the reef the site sits on rather than a single point on it.

How Wainilu 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.

Wainilu 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 -8.6289°, 119.7038°. 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
Pink Skunk Anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion)
Pink Skunk Anemonefish Amphiprion perideraion A pale orange anemonefish with a single white stripe running from the head to the tail base and a white stripe on the snout.to 10 cm · 1-15 m · by dayhost anemones, often in lagoons or sheltered reefsLook for it in its host anemone, usually the Magnificent or Merten's Carpet Anemone. (c) Zara, some rights reserved (CC BY) · 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
Spine-cheek Clownfish (Amphiprion biaculeatus)
Spine-cheek Clownfish Amphiprion biaculeatus A stocky orange clownfish with two white bars, the first bar behind the eye is wide and the second is mid-body. It has a distinctive spine on its cheek.to 11 cm · 1-16 m · by dayhost anemones, often on sheltered reef flats or slopesLook for its host anemone, often the bubble-tip anemone; the fish will retreat into the tentacles if approached. (c) Piotr Lukasik, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Pearly Soldierfish (Myripristis kuntee)
Pearly Soldierfish Myripristis kuntee A reddish soldierfish with silvery-white scale edges, giving it a pearly appearance. It often hovers motionless near overhangs or in caves.to - · 3-40 m · at nightreef caves, ledges, and overhangsLook for its reflective eyes glowing red in a torch beam when surveying dark recesses during a night dive. no rights reserved · CC0 · observation
Variegated Lizardfish (Synodus variegatus)
Variegated Lizardfish Synodus variegatus A slender bottom-dwelling fish with a mottled pattern of brown, white and reddish blotches, often seen resting motionless on sand or rubble.to 25 cm · 1-50 m · day and nightsandy or rubble bottoms near coral patchesLook for its distinctive shape and eyes on the seabed; it will often let a diver approach closely before darting away. no rights reserved · CC0 · 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) Zara, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation