Located at the eastern tip of Nusa Tenggara, western the mythical and mysterious island of Alor has long been a mecca for the more adventurous diver. Difficult to get to it may be but the rewards are there for those who seek off the beaten track diving. Fierce currents sweep the strait between Pantar to the west and Alor itself, the islands of Pura, Ternate and Buaya acting as baffles in between, producing a divemasters nightmare for current predictions.

A spear fisherman indulges our group with countless photo opportunities. Photo: Erik Lukas

The end product of all the water movement here however is world class diving. Vertical walls, scintillating sea mounts and magnificent muck combine to produce a perfect environment tailor made for the marine life that live here, everything from Mola Mola to Harlequin Shrimp can be spotted. Add to this the friendly locals and the lack of other dive boats Alor is establishing itself as one of the hotbeds of Indonesian diving.

Consists of mountainous islands on the Lesser Sunda volcano ring makes Alor has a stunning beautiful scenery. And most of all, these volcanos creates extreme drop offs and pinnacles on the sea bed makes it ideal for home of big pelagics.

Kids and a raft at Batu Putih. Photo: Stuart McDonald

Since the depth of the sea is around 3,000 meters, you can get bigger fish compared to the other location. The most popular fish that you can find here are Dogtooth Tuna. Fishing season at Alor is almost the entire year except for end of December till end of February or during Monsoon period, the advantages of the spot is it’s located between islands and nearby the shore, therefore the boat position is always protected from the choppy sea surface. Even in the peak period of the East Muson season in July and August where other part of Indonesia have really bad weather, we still can go out.

Thresher sharks are frequently caught by tuna fishers in the waters around Pulau Alor. Credit: Rafid Shidqi/Thresher Shark Project Indonesia

How to get there:

Alor can be reached from Jakarta or Surabaya via Kupang by plane, below is the following flight route:

• Jakarta/Surabaya – Kupang by Sriwijaya Air
• Another choice is via Denpasar – Bali using Garuda

For more information and reservation write us booking@topindonesiaholidays.com