Flores: Labuan Bajo Area – Kelor Dive Site – Flores Island

Site Overview

Kelor is a small island near Labuan Bajo on the western tip of Flores Island, offering accessible reef diving just minutes from the harbor in a picturesque island setting. The site features a gentle coral slope descending from 2 meters to approximately 20 meters around the island, with healthy hard coral gardens in the shallower sections and scattered bommies on a sandy substrate at depth. Resident hawksbill turtles are reliably seen throughout the dive, and clownfish inhabit the anemones on the reef flat. The shallower sections at 2 to 8 meters are covered in diverse hard corals, with staghorn, plate, and brain corals creating a colorful mosaic that shelters juvenile reef fish and diverse invertebrates. The bommies at 8 to 16 meters attract schools of fusiliers, damselfish, and anthias, while moray eels, lionfish, and scorpionfish inhabit the crevices. Sandy patches harbor blue-spotted stingrays and garden eels. The deeper sections at 16 to 20 meters feature scattered coral formations and occasional whitetip reef sharks. The mild current and warm water create comfortable conditions for extended dives. Kelor is one of the closest dive sites to Labuan Bajo, reachable in approximately 10 minutes by speedboat, making it ideal for half-day trips and checkout dives. The island's white sand beach and hilltop viewpoint make it a popular surface interval stop. Kelor is often the first dive on Komodo itineraries departing from Labuan Bajo, providing a gentle introduction to the region's marine environment.