The Passage

Between Gam and Waigeo, Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua, Indonesia

A narrow marine channel between Gam and Waigeo Islands — almost a mangrove-fed underwater river. Depths 3-18 m; the current rips through like a river when the tide moves. Blackwater-style aesthetic with dark water, orange soft coral on the walls, huge gorgonians, wobbegongs in the overhangs, and endemic critters in the mangroves at each end. Advanced dive; timing is everything.