Mawan

Mawan — “pretty” in the local dialect — pairs a postcard white-sand islet with one of Komodo’s most relaxed manta encounters. A gentle sandy slope scattered with coral bommies hosts shallow cleaning stations at just ~5m, where reef mantas hover motionless for minutes while wrasse pick them clean — no drift chase required. Away from the stations, the fringing reef and sand flats hide superb muck life: frogfish, leaf scorpionfish, hairy shrimp and orangutan crabs, with eagle rays and bamboo sharks cruising the slope.