manta rays & molas

Find out more about our most famous residents!

With a resident population of over 800 manta rays, Nusa Penida is a fantastic place to spot reef mantas. They visit our sites all year round and the dive sites are suitable for all levels.

A bucket list item for many, the molas (sunfish) frequent Nusa Penida's sites each year during the mola season - this is when sightings are common! This is one of the only places in Indonesia you can see them.

One of the main attractions of Nusa Penida is the year round manta rays. These graceful ocean giants never fail to make a dive amazing, and whether it's your first manta encounter or you're lucky enough to have lost count of how many you have seen, it's always such a special experience. The dive sites where we see them are on the South side of the island and are in two main areas- Manta Bay and Manta Point. The sites are suitable for all levels of diver, including students.

Manta rays, ahem (!) were re-classified as Mobula rays in 2017, and there are two species of these majestic beauties that frequent our sites: M.Alfredi - a.k.a the reef manta and M.Birostris - a.k.a the oceanic or giant manta. Reef mantas can grow up to 5m across from wing tip to wing tip while giant mantas can grow up to 8m across. Both species are harmless filter feeders and reef mantas cruise around the sites on the South side of Nusa Penida all year round.

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Manta Seasons and Site Conditions

Manta rays can be spotted all year round at Nusa Penida!! We will aim to get everyone to the manta sites at least once during their stay, as long as the conditions allow.

For all trips to the South side of the island to visit our flappy friends we need to check the swell report and wind predictions - When the swell is too high this means that the waves are large and the boat ride there can be unsafe, so we only go to these sites when the conditions are good - Safety first! Diving the sites when there's high swell also means that there would be reduced the visibility in the area, so it's not a great idea all-round.
The boat ride to get to the manta sites passes Nusa Penida's stunning cliffs with towering white limestone rising up above the rocks and crashing waves at the bottom.

The manta sites rarely have currents as they are in sheltered bays, however they can have surge due to the waves that we experience on that side of the island.

Water temperatures at the manta sites can vary throughout the year. From late June to late October we can have cooler temperatures ranging from 18-25 degrees, and from November to May the temperatures would be 26-29 degrees.

Visibility at the manta sites can range from 5m-20m, but on average the vis is around 10m - A little lower than the other sites around Penida, but this is due to plankton, which is what attracts mantas to the area. Visibility is usually best at the manta sites from January to March (our low season).

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contribute to manta research

Most of the manta rays that we see are M.Alfredi (reef mantas). Nusa Penida has a recorded population of around 700 mantas, thanks to the citizen science database; Manta Matcher. Manta rays each have a unique spot pattern on their underside, so divers are encouraged to take photos of the manta's bellies and share them on mantamatcher.org. Once the pics are uploaded, one of their team can "match" them - if they are already in the database then this valuable information is added to what they already know about the individual (you're encouraged to give as much information about the encounter as possible). It helps experts to recognise any patterns in the mantas behaviour, and ultimately counts towards their protection in our oceans. If you're lucky you may have a snap of a new manta!

Most of Nusa Penida's mantas are spotted & logged on average four times, and many are logged only once. The most frequently sighted manta "Little Nipper" has had over 100 sightings.

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manta behaviour

cleaning

At Manta Point there are "cleaning stations" - Think of them as a swim-through spa that the mantas visit for grooming! We often get to see manta rays being cleaned here. Mantas clean for up to eight hours per day, and sometimes we get lucky and see multiple manta rays at the cleaning station! As mantas cannot stay still (they are negatively buoyant!), they have to continuously swim, even when cleaning. This means that mantas often swim in and out of a cleaning station area, so they are great places to hover around and observe.

feeding

At Manta Bay dive site we mostly observe mantas feeding on plankton - so this is a great site for both snorkeling and diving as they are often close to the surface. Mantas sometimes roll to funnel more plankton into their mouths - this is called barrel rolling and it looks like they're doing a loop-the-loop! We also see mantas cruising around the site as well so you should always be on the look out.

mating

Mating trains can also be witnessed at Manta Point - This is where a female manta is pursued by several males, often for a long period of time... She swims along and the last male to be following her after the others have tired out is the lucky suitor!

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Molas (also known as sunfish)

Another of Nusa Penida's top attractions is the mola. Molas are the largest bony fish in the sea and are on the bucket list of many divers! They grow to an impressive four metres tall, up three metres long and weighing up to 2000 kilos, but they are a bizarre looking fish! From the front they are very slim, but when they turn to the side they look like an enormous disc with long fins attached at the top and bottom. Related to pufferfish & triggerfish, molas have a fused mouth (meaning they cannot close it), giving them a constant "alarmed" appearance.

The species of mola that we see here in Nusa Penida is Mola Alexandrini (common name: bumphead sunfish or Bali sunfish) - They're different to Mola mola, but they look very similar so we'll forgive you if you think they look the same!

mola season

Molas frequent Nusa Penida's sites most commonly from late June to late October / early November, when the cooler water comes up from the Lombok Strait. These cooler temperatures bring the molas shallower, and we can often observe them being cleaned.
We do see molas in the warmer months as well, but you need a little more luck during these months.

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mola facts

cleaning

Much like mantas, molas cannot clean themselves and they need to visit "cleaning stations" to be rid of the parasites from their skin and eyes (Yep! Gross, we know.) As you can imagine, they don't like to be disturbed while cleaning and it can take them a while to settle in to their cleaning spot. Generally if a mola is cruising around near to the reef, it is looking for a spot to clean.

Longfin bannerfish are the main species which clean molas, so when they have found their sweet spot the bannerfish will crowd around the mola and start pecking! Molas look like they go into a bit of a trance when they're being cleaned.

Why is it called a sunfish when it looks more like the moon than the sun?

Well, one of the behaviours of this odd looking fish is to bask in the sun at the surface! It's not known exactly why they do this, but some think that it's their way to warm up as they spend a long time in colder, deeper water. Interestingly, they are known as moonfish in several languages!

breaching

Molas also breach the surface (leap out of the water), it's quite the sight and we often see this on our surface intervals! It is thought that they do this to clean off parasites as they slap back down to the water. If you're very lucky you may even see this from underwater - they circle around, gathering speed and then whoosh up to the surface!!

mola identification

The molas that we see here were previously thought to be Mola Ramsayi, but due to diligent work and many, many research dives it was deemed in 2017 that they were indeed Mola Alexandrini. Like with other marine animals, they can be identified with the correct ID photos, and you can submit your shots to Match My Mola - If you find a new mola you get to name it!

Manta & Mola Code of Conduct

When you dive with us you will be given a thorough briefing on the correct code of conduct. We expect all divers and snorkelers to adhere to this to minimise disturbances to the manta rays & molas. Ultimately - If you adhere to the code of conduct, you have longer and better encounters!

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manta rays & molas

Find out more about our most famous residents!