Adara - Atauro Island
Adara feels like Atauro’s showpiece, and for good reason. From the moment you roll in, you’re looking at a reef wall that drops beyond 30 metres, absolutely plastered with hard corals. Not just a few patches, but vast, healthy tables and branching formations. We love to take our time here, drifting along with the wall on our left, scanning the blue for the bigger pelagics that sometimes cruise past. It’s the fish life that really sets Adara apart. We’ve seen more butterflyfish species here than almost anywhere else, with the Redfin and Cross-hatch standing out. Keep an eye out for enormous schools of Bicolour Parrotfish too, chomping their way across the reef, and the more unusual Japanese Parrotfish. Down deeper, around 20 metres, the light gets beautiful, filtering through the soft corals, and that's often where we spot the Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips hanging out under ledges. It’s an intermediate dive, currents can pick up, but that usually brings in more action.
- Location
- Atauro Island, Timor-Leste, Southeast Asia
- Coordinates
- -8.260000, 125.570000
- Type
- wall
- Maximum Depth
- 5-30m
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Marine Protected Area: Suco de Vila
Best Time to Dive in Atauro Island
The warmest water temperatures in Atauro Island occur in January, averaging 30.1°C. The coolest conditions are in December at 30.1°C.
Monthly Water Temperatures
- January: 30.1°C (air: 24.0°C)
- February: 30.1°C (air: 23.6°C)
- March: 30.1°C (air: 23.9°C)
- April: 30.1°C (air: 24.1°C)
- May: 30.1°C (air: 24.5°C)
- June: 30.1°C (air: 23.9°C)
- July: 30.1°C (air: 23.3°C)
- August: 30.1°C (air: 23.8°C)
- September: 30.1°C (air: 24.4°C)
- October: 30.1°C (air: 25.3°C)
- November: 30.1°C (air: 25.6°C)
- December: 30.1°C (air: 24.4°C)
Nearby Dive Sites in Atauro Island
- Alor - 5-20m (reef)
- Barry's Place - 5-25m (muck)
- Kal's Dream
- Whale Shark Alley - 10-40m (drift)
Nearest Dive Centres to Adara
- Dive In Alor
- Nautika Dive Alor - ["PADI"]
Marine Life in Atauro Island
Home to 263 recorded species including 241 reef fish, 8 seagrass & algae, 4 sea snails & nudibranchs, 3 other, 2 clams & mussels, 2 sea cucumbers.
Notable Species
- Wrasse (Thalassoma lunare) - Reef Fish
- Sunburst Butterflyfish (Chaetodon kleinii) - Reef Fish
- Species code: Ea (Enhalus acoroides) - Seagrass & Algae
- Two-tone wrasse (Thalassoma amblycephalum) - Reef Fish
- Two-spot Bristletooth (Ctenochaetus binotatus) - Reef Fish
- Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) - Reef Fish
- Bristle-toothed Surgeonfish (Ctenochaetus striatus) - Reef Fish
- Orange-lined Triggerfish (Balistapus undulatus) - Reef Fish
- Rainbowfish (Halichoeres hortulanus) - Reef Fish
- Ternate Chromis (Chromis ternatensis) - Reef Fish
- Angel abu polos (Centropyge vrolikii) - Reef Fish
- Blue-lined Tang (Zebrasoma scopas) - Reef Fish
- Mimic Surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus) - Reef Fish
- Clark's anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii) - Reef Fish
- Parrotfish (Thalassoma hardwicke) - Reef Fish
- Pinktail triggerfish (Melichthys vidua) - Reef Fish
- Blackspot Surgeonfish (Acanthurus nigrofuscus) - Reef Fish
- Bicolor Angelfish (Centropyge bicolor) - Reef Fish
- Banded Goatfish (Parupeneus multifasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Species code: Si (Syringodium isoetifolium) - Seagrass & Algae
Recommended Packing List for Adara
Based on average water temperature of 30.1°C.
- Shorty or Rashguard - warm 30°C water needs minimal exposure protection
- Mask - essential for every dive
- Fins
- BCD - buoyancy compensator
- Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
- Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
- Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
- Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
- Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories