It’s an experience no person can ever forget and one that is continually cherished no matter how many times you are lucky enough do it – diving with manta.
And when better to shine a light on these stunning creatures than World Manta Day, which is celebrated each year on September 17!
These beautiful beasts are a thing of majesty, their giant presence being both breathtaking and awe-inspiring. Few moments can compare to the magic of seeing a manta up close, watching as they glide with a grace that feels almost otherworldly, often circling curiously around you and looping as they feed on plankton.
It’s encounters like these that make manta diving in Indonesia and the Maldives such a bucket-list adventure.
Indonesia is one of the world’s top manta ray hotspots, thanks to its nutrient-rich waters and healthy reefs. In Bali, Nusa Penida’s Manta Point – which is just a few minutes sailing away from our fantastic Emperor Lembongan dive centre – is famous for reliable year-round encounters, with reef mantas gathering to feed and socialise. Further east in Komodo National Park, strong currents bring plankton blooms that attract large groups between October and March at sites like Manta Alley and Karang Makassar.
Raja Ampat, renowned for its biodiversity, is another incredible place for manta diving. Sites such as Blue Magic – at Cape Kri – and Manta Ridge in the Dampier Strait often deliver amazing sightings. Our Best of Raja Ampat itinerary, from onboard either Emperor Harmoni or Emperor Raja Laut, offers the perfect way to reach this incredible part of the world.
If you’re thinking manta diving, you will probably be thinking Maldives. The country is world renowned for the numbers that live here due to its unique atoll geography which creates perfect conditions for encounters.
The atolls act like natural funnels, channelling nutrient-rich currents that attract huge blooms of plankton – the manta ray’s favourite food. This abundance, combined with the warm, clear waters, draw mantas to specific cleaning stations and feeding grounds year after year. The Ari and Mare Atolls, featured in our Best of Maldives trips, provide excellent chances to encounter them.
But World Manta Day is also a reminder that these incredible animals face serious threats. Mantas are vulnerable to overfishing and their habitats are at risk from climate change. Even tourism, if unmanaged, can disturb their natural behaviour which is why we always make sure we treat these unmatchable beauties – and their environment – with the respect deserved.
If you haven’t dived with them already – you really must. And if it’s something you have already ticked off the bucket-list we would wager good money you would love to do it again.
Whichever group you fall into, why not join us onboard one of our liveaboards or at our Nusa Lembongan centre and share some special time with the majestic manta.
If you would like to find out more about manta, and the options available to dive with them, please contact us on [email protected] where our team will happily answer any questions or help sort out the trip of your dreams!