Coral Reef Diagnostics’ coral reef survey trip to East Timor (Jan.-Feb. 2024)
Coral Reef Diagnostics went hunting for one of the most biodiverse reefs on Earth — and found it off Atauro Island, Timor-Leste. After a golden-hour staging stop in the seaside capital of Dili, the expedition crossed the strait to Atauro and went almost entirely underwater, logging 8 dives and 2 snorkels in four days with the crew at Compass Diving, the island's PADI 5-Star dive resort.
What we below was jaw-dropping: hillsides of branching and table Acropora packed shoulder to shoulder, leather and soft corals swaying in the current, shimmering clouds of anthias and damselfish hanging over the reef, and anemonefish peeking from the thickets — coral cover so dense and healthy it's a living postcard of what reefs can still be. (Dive of the trip: "Raiketa," so spectacular that Dr. Coral fired off 300 frames in a single drop.)
From Watuwai and Biqueli Wall to the Pinnacle, Cabbage Patch, and a Haruine night dive — plus snorkels over Compass Diving's own house reef — Atauro more than earned its reputation as the pearl of Timor-Leste's seas. See links to access photos for each site below.
Dili, East Timor (pre-departure to Atauro)
