Indonesia Dive Sites - Bali - Tulamben |
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Tulamben, a quiet little village on the north east coast of Bali about 3 hours drive from Kuta Beach and the airport, has become a popular dive destination because of the USAT Liberty Wreck just off the beach. But to come to Tulamben and only dive the wreck would be to miss out on some other excellent diving. Dive sites are close to shore and currents are manageable for all levels of diver.
The area is incredibly bio diverse, fed nutrient rich waters that move from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
Tulamben Wall is a deep drop off down to over 60m at the east end of the beach and can be accessed from shore. Lava flows covered in soft corals and sea fans slip down the wall creating overhangs. There are lionfish and moray eels all over the wall as well as the usual Bali reef fish such as oriental sweetlips and butterfly fish. Bumphead parrotfish are also common. At 28m is a huge purple gorgonian seafan, over 2 metres in diameter. All sorts of critters can be found by hunting in the black volcanic sand such as ornate ghost pipefish and fire gobies.
Paradise Reef, sometimes called Coral Garden, is located between the Libery Wreck and the Drop Off.
This is a macro dive site that is a great dive at day and at night. It is also popular for training dives. Look for octopus, moray eels, ribbon eels, scorpionfish, leaffish, frogfish, harlequin shrimp and mantis shrimp. At night Spanish dancers can be seen as can numerous crustacean species like banded boxer shrimp and hermit crabs.
Kelebit Rocks (Batu Kelebit) are two small rock outcrops 10 minutes boat ride from Tulamben.
The stepped ledges are often visited by reef sharks, tuna, trevally and barracuda. Occasionally manta rays and even hammerhead sharks can be seen here. In the channels between the rocks healthy coral, seafans and sponges feed on the current and schools of fish including snapper and wrasse proliferate. Visibility is good. Currents can be strong at times and the water is cooler than in Tulamben bay.
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