Flores: Maumere Bay – Pemana Besar Dive Site – Flores Island

Site Overview

Pemana Besar is a small island in Maumere Bay on the north coast of Flores Island, surrounded by healthy reef slopes and walls that offer some of the best diving in the bay. The site features a fringing reef descending from 3 meters to approximately 28 meters, with a coral-covered slope in the shallower sections transitioning to a dramatic wall with overhangs and swim-throughs at depth. Resident hawksbill turtles are reliably seen throughout the dive, feeding on the reef flat and often approaching divers with curiosity. The shallower sections at 3 to 12 meters are covered in diverse hard and soft corals, with staghorn, plate, and brain corals creating a colorful mosaic that shelters diverse reef fish. Schools of batfish and sweetlips congregate along the reef edge, while whitetip reef sharks patrol the deeper wall. The wall at 15 to 25 meters features gorgonian sea fans, barrel sponges, and black coral trees, with overhangs harboring lobster, moray eels, and pygmy seahorses. Napoleon wrasse cruise between the bommies, and the sand channels harbor blue-spotted stingrays and garden eels. The mild to moderate current flows around the island, delivering nutrients that sustain prolific coral growth. Pemana Besar is best dived from April through December and is accessible from Maumere by boat in approximately 25 minutes. The island's white sand beach makes it an attractive surface interval stop, often combined with Wairterang and Pangabatang on Maumere Bay day trips.