Introduction to diving in Alo Island

Let's learn about Alo Island in Indonesia. This is a very suitable place for diving. If you want to go diving, this place is really recommended. There is also information about accommodation and transportation in Alo Island. You can also learn about it.

Geographical location and traffic

Aloe Islands is located in central and eastern Indonesia, more than 65,438+0,000 kilometers east of Bali, and 8 degrees south latitude with Bali. It is located in the volcanic belt extending eastward from Sumatra, Java, Bali and Lombok. To the east of the Alo Islands is the Umbe Strait, which separates Palau Vetal Island from atauro island, to the south is the west of Timor Island, to the north is banda sea, and to the west is the rest of sunda islands.

The arrival of Arlo

Kupang (the capital of West Timor, Indonesia) is the only access to Alor, Palau. Indonesia's main international airport: Bali; There are direct flights to Kupang every day in Surabaya, Jakarta. There are about three flights between Kupang and Palau Alo every day, and the flight time is about 40-50 minutes. The luggage checked by TRANSNUSA and WINGSAIR is 10- 15kg, which is not too expensive. Reminder: If there is no flight connection between Bali-Kupang-Alo, you have to stay in Kupang for one night. If you buy the earliest flight in Jakarta or Surabaya-Kupang-Alo, you can reach Alo on the same day.

In March 2000, it was said that a charter flight (NAMAIR) was launched from Alo to Bali, with two, four and six flights per week. But you can't buy tickets online, and you can only sell a small number of tickets through agents. You can consult local potential stores by email.

In addition, there are long-distance ferry traffic, but it takes a long time. Tip: Alor Airport is very small. The flight is likely to be cancelled or delayed due to the weather. It is best to leave enough time for subsequent transfers.

Among Alor's many potential store websites, the most detailed description of traffic is:/practical-information/traffic/,you can find it yourself.

Cold climate and diving season

Alor has a tropical climate with two main seasons, the dry season is from April to 1 1 and the rainy season is from February to March. The local average temperature is between 25 and 32, and the water temperature varies greatly between 22 and 29.

Cahill, Arlot, the birthplace of diving.

Alor's dive shop is generally open from the end of March to the end of June. The rainfall is the least in July and August, but it will be affected by the monsoon in northern banda sea. There are often big waves in the Alo Strait (located in Ambon, Banda Islands, banda sea, which is closed for fishing in July and August due to wind and waves). There is a cold current in the Indian Ocean in summer in the south (referring to the cold water of Panida Island, Lombok Island and Komodo Island in Bali). So in July and August, there are storms in the north, cold currents in the south, and underwater currents are relatively large. The diving conditions are very difficult, but it is also the biggest time for bulk cargo.

Diving characteristics and diving points

After walking so many places, it's really hard to find a place with so many diving types like Alo. First of all, the possibility of marine cargo: hammerhead shark, long-tailed shark, sunfish, eagle ray, hairy ray, gray reef shark, dolphin, whale, dugong and so on. This is not uncommon. Secondly, the healthy and primitive coral reef system, with dense fish, is comparable to Wangsi Island and Komodo National Park. Finally, wonderful muck diving. Although it is not paid much attention to in the local area, there are rich species such as frog fish, arowana, octopus, hippocampus, sea slug and some extremely rare species, but their popularity is not high.

This beautiful tiger anemone is very common in Alo.

Background knowledge about Alor's geographical location:

The Indonesian Ocean Current (ITF) is the only low-latitude ocean current in the world. It is an important part of the ocean temperature and salinity circulation and plays an important role in the changes of tropical and even global climate systems. Because the Pacific Ocean is 200mm higher than the average sea level and the Indian Ocean is 100mm lower than the average sea level, the Indian Ocean is irrigated by the Pacific Ocean all the year round, thus forming a direct current in Indonesia. There is a unit of flow called Sverdrups (million cubic meters per second). It is estimated that the total amount of seawater flowing through Indonesia is about 15 Sverdrup.

There are three main passages through Indonesia:

1. The diving in Lombok Strait between Lombok in Bali mainly refers to the waters of Meng Lan Island and Penida Island.

2. Diving in Sape Strait between Sombawa Island and Komodo Island mainly refers to the waters of Komodo National Park.

3. Diving in Ombu Strait between Alot Timor and Timor Island mainly refers to the straits of Alot Island, Pula Island and Pantal Island.

Indonesia's crossflow brings abundant seawater, food and large creatures patrolling the ocean.

The diving area of Alo Islands mainly refers to:

1. Strait between Alo, Palau and Pintar; 2. Pula Island, the big island in the middle of the Strait, and several small islands around it; 3. In Alor Bay near Karabakh, Palau. The total number of potential points is about 50.

After diving in Alor for 8 days, I dived 19 times and went to 17 different diving spots. The water temperature is 24-28 degrees, and the visibility 10- 15m is not good. The local diving guide said that because the rainy season has just ended, basically after mid-April, the visibility will be good throughout the season.

A map of Palau's main diving spots.

Some impressive dive sites:

1. Wolong Cave, an important diving spot. The first cave has a lot of space and exits at both ends, but we played in it for more than an hour. First, two giant nurse sharks were sleeping, and then they saw three shark eggshells, some empty and some wriggling under the light. Later, I checked the information, and it should be the eggshell of the spotted bamboo shark (the case of brown bamboo shark eggs). There are also rich creatures in the cave, such as a decorative crab twice as big as my head and a gorgeous Qixi fish (comet) with a sponge on its back. It's the kind of fish that imitates eels. There are many beautiful nude photos, but then the camera died.

If there are too many divers in this hole, or the technology is not very good, or you are afraid of confined space, it is probably difficult to see its wonderful.

Coral reef fish in Palau

2. Yellow corner, hammerhead shark point. Come to this diving spot three times and watch hammerhead sharks twice. The dive point named corner is generally not too bad, but the launching point is difficult to control, and the current is large, which is only suitable for experienced divers. In addition, the diving spot itself is very beautiful, with yellow fish and yellow corals, mostly sea fans.

Coral reef fish in Palau

3. Several very beautiful reef wall diving: Bama wall, edge and cathedral, all of which are famous Alor diving spots. Beautiful corals and schools of fish are said to be diving spots where big goods are encountered, but we didn't encounter anything special.

Sea slugs in Palau

4. Favorite diving and garbage diving: Mud Mosque, Mini-wall, La Hing Bay in Lima, Black Sand, Rhino, Frog Fish, Sea Silkworm, etc.

Rhinoceros in Palau

On the Tradition of Local Fishermen Hunting Long-tailed Sharks in Alor;

One day I went out to sea and met a fisherman. He caught a long-tailed shark. According to Alo's submarine guide, local fishermen in Alo have the tradition and skills to catch long-tailed sharks, and the sharks they catch will be sold in the market. It is said that the Alo Islands Strait catches long-tailed sharks all the year round.

They also introduced the fishing methods of local fishermen in alor:

The long-tailed shark preys on its long tail and makes the small fish dizzy. This habit has long been mastered by local fishermen in Alo. Fishermen used a 200-meter-long colored rope to trick the long-tailed shark into thinking it was food. Unfortunately, when the long-tailed shark touches the rope with its long tail, it will be hooked by the hook on the rope, which will paralyze them and make them unable to move.

But if we meet in the diving shop, we will negotiate the price with the fishermen, about 500 thousand rupees, and then release the long-tailed shark.

There is an organization in Indonesia (called treshershark.id on ins) that specializes in investigating long-tailed sharks. It often comes to Alo, using the skills of local fishermen to label the long-tailed shark and then release it.

Tips:

When diving in the alor sea area, there is always cold water, and a 5mm diving suit and headgear will make diving more comfortable.

Or they all dive by boat, and most of the boat trips take 10-40 minutes. You will be on the boat when you rest. Pay attention to sun protection and get seasick.