Clear water seen from Pura Island in the Alor Pantar Strait

Photo: Sims8899, cropped, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Clown Valley (Anemone City)

Pura Island, Alor, Indonesia

  • Advanced
  • Strong current
  • Best Mar to Dec

Clown Valley is an advanced dive site in Pura Island, Alor, Indonesia. Dives run from 5 to 25 m, in strong current. The best months are March to December. Marine life here includes clownfish. One dive shop on Scubalo runs trips here.

Updated

Conditions at Clown Valley

Max depth
25 m
Depth range
5–25 m
Current
Strong
Level
Advanced
Depth profile: dives from 5 m to 25 m.

Safety

Current
The strait's currents change fast; dive it with a local guide.

About Clown Valley

Clown Valley, also called Anemone City or Apuri, is a shallow slope off Pura Island in the Alor Pantar Strait, famous for a carpet of bulb-tentacle anemones full of clownfish. A 2023 report said much of the colony had gone, so ask your shop how it looks now.

Clown Valley lies off Pura Island in the Alor Pantar Strait, near the village of Apuri, and is also known as Anemone City. It made its name with a slope where nearly every surface was covered in bulb-tentacle anemones, most of them home to Clark's anemonefish and some to tomato anemonefish. Divers also report small streams of bubbles rising from the seabed, a sign of the volcanic island beneath, along with sea apples and nudibranchs in the shallows.

Reports on the anemones now differ. A liveaboard trip in 2023 found that the great colony had disappeared and left the site off its itinerary, while other recent accounts still describe a dense carpet down the slope. Ask your dive shop how it looks this season before you plan around it.

It is a shallow dive, mostly above 12 metres, but the strait's currents can run strong here, so it suits divers comfortable in moving water. Drifts from Sharks Galore, next door, often finish here.

When to dive Clown Valley

Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

Season

Right now
Main season
March to December, when Alor's dive centres run their season.
Best visibility
The dry months, when it can reach 30 metres or more.

Marine life at Clown Valley

What divers report seeing here. Tap one to see where else it turns up.

Type of diving

Questions about Clown Valley

What is Clown Valley in Alor known for?

A slope off Pura Island once carpeted in bulb-tentacle anemones, home to Clark's and tomato anemonefish. It is also called Anemone City or Apuri.

Are the anemones at Clown Valley still there?

Reports differ. A 2023 liveaboard trip found the colony had largely disappeared, while other accounts still describe it as dense. Ask your dive shop how the site looks this season.

How deep is Clown Valley?

It is a shallow dive, mostly above about 12 metres. The current in the Alor Pantar Strait can be strong, so it suits divers used to moving water.

Where is Clown Valley?

Off Pura Island, in the Alor Pantar Strait between Alor and Pantar, near the village of Apuri. It sits next to Sharks Galore.

When is the best time to dive in Alor?

Alor's dive centres run their season from March to December, with the best visibility in the dry months.

Reviews

Be the first to review Clown Valley

Dived here? Tell other divers what it was like: the visibility, the current and what you saw.

Dive shops that go to Clown Valley

One shop in the directory runs trips here.

See the shop