Magic Mountain Raja Ampat: A Manta Ray Hotspot

On World Manta Day, Prana by Atzaró is spotlighting Magic Mountain in Raja Ampat, one of the region’s renowned manta ray cleaning stations. Also known as Shadow Reef, the submerged seamount in southern Raja Ampat attracts reef and oceanic manta rays to cleaning stations where specialised reef fish remove parasites, creating an exceptional opportunity for divers and strong snorkellers to observe manta behaviour in the wild.

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In Celebration of World Manta Day, Prana by Atzaró Spotlights Raja Ampat's Magic Mountain - One of the World's Great Manta Cleaning Stations

17 September 2026 - This World Manta Day, Prana by Atzaró - the world's largest and most luxurious traditional phinisi yacht- is turning the spotlight on one of Raja Ampat's most extraordinary encounters with the ocean's gentle giants: the dive and snorkel site known as 'Magic Mountain'.

In Celebration of World Manta Day, Prana by Atzaró Spotlights Raja Ampat's Magic Mountain - One of the World's Great Manta Cleaning Stations

World Manta Day, founded by the Manta Trust in 2020, is marked every 17 September to raise awareness of the threats facing manta and devil rays, from unregulated fishing and bycatch to unsustainable tourism. Both the giant oceanic manta and the reef manta are listed as threatened by the IUCN, and with mantas maturing late and giving birth to a single pup only once every few years, their populations recover slowly from any loss. The day has become a global rallying point for dive operators, researchers, and ocean-lovers to celebrate these animals and to promote responsible ways of experiencing them in the wild.

Few places on Earth make that celebration easier than Raja Ampat, and few sites within it are as iconic as Magic Mountain. This dive site sits within the waters that Prana by Atzaró explores each season as part of its charter yacht Raja Ampat itinerary. Built from solid teak and ironwood, the 55-metre, nine-suite luxury phinisi yacht takes Raja Ampat luxury travel to annother level - guests can sail through the Four Kings archipelago combining a full-charter experience with genuine access to one of the last great marine wildernesses.

Also known as ‘Shadow Reef’, this submerged seamount off Misool in southern Raja Ampat rises dramatically from deep water and hosts multiple manta cleaning stations, where oceanic and reef mantas glide in to be tended by wrasse and other reef fish. Divers regularly share the water with reef sharks, dense schools of fish, and soft-coral-covered ridges, and, notably, the site's shallower cleaning station makes it accessible to strong snorkellers, as well as certified divers, offering a rare surface-level window into manta behaviour.

There are multiple sites that are good for Mantas in Raja Ampat, but Magic Mountain ‘aka' Shadow Reef (Karang Bayangan in Indonesian) is one of a only handful of cleaning stations in the world where you can often see both Reef mantas (Mobula alfredi) and Oceanic mantas (Mobula birostris) sharing the same cleaning station.

Onboard dive guides lead guests to Misool's signature sites, including Magic Mountain, as part of a wider itinerary that also takes in the region's limestone karsts, mangrove-lined waterways, and remote island communities.

"World Manta Day is a moment to pause and recognise how fragile these encounters really are," says Vicente Guasch, Chief Global Officer, Atzaró Collection, "Watching an oceanic manta circle a cleaning station at Magic Mountain is one of the most humbling things you can experience in the ocean. Our role with our luxury expedition yacht Indonesia, is to bring guests to that moment responsibly - respecting the mantas' space, following local codes of conduct, and supporting the conservation work that keeps sites like this thriving for the next generation of divers and snorkellers."

About Prana by Atzaró:
Prana by Atzaró is the world's largest and most luxurious traditional Phinisi yacht, offering private yacht charters in Indonesia and bespoke voyages throughout Indonesia's most extraordinary destinations, including Raja Ampat, Komodo National Park, the Banda Sea and beyond. The yacht is fully staffed including a Cruise Director and Dive Instructor and sleeps up to 18 people with 9 beautifully designed air-conditioned suites.

Rates:
Full charter rates start at $20,000 per night, depending on season. For more information, itineraries and bookings visit pranabyatzaro.com  

About The Atzaró Collection:

The Atzaró Collection is the international portfolio of Atzaró Group, the family-owned Spanish hospitality company established in Ibiza in 2004.

The Collection comprises Atzaró Agroturismo Hotel (Ibiza), Atzaró Okavango Camp (Botswana), Atzaró Cape Town (South Africa) and Prana by Atzaró, a nine-suite luxury phinisi yacht operating private charters in Raja Ampat and the Komodo Islands in Indonesia. New developments are underway in Bali, Miami and Playa del Carmen, Mexico.   The launch of The Atzaró Collection reflects the brand's evolution from a single destination into an international portfolio, while remaining grounded in its founding values of authenticity, design and connection to place. Future growth will continue to be shaped by the same principles, with a focus on considered expansion and highly individual guest experiences.