Menjangan & North-West of Bali

Next to the Java Strait, 4h30 drive from Sanur.
Allow for some time (3 days) if you want to discover the area.

The North-Western region offers different aspects :

to the very west, the Gilimanuck transit area with its ferry for Java, its bay and its mangroves,
to the north, the protected natural reserve of the Bali National Park and the island of Menjangan,
to the east, towards Pemutaran and Lovina, the coastal development area.

The region offers all the types of diving: deep dive, walls, wreck, drift, photography or macro.
The singularity of some sites (Secret Bay – Puri Jati) and the technicality of others (the Anchor wreck) create an ideal environment for experienced divers.

GILIMANUK – SECRET BAY

Type: macro, photography, Peak performance Buoyancy
Minimum level: Advanced Open Water
Depth: 3 to 12 m
Current: nul to medium
Visibility: 2 to 10 m
Access: shore or boat dive
Remarks: dark sand, algae

Location: to the North-West of Bali, 4 hrs drive from Sanur.

Secret Bay is part of the small village of Gilimanuk, where the ferry links Bali to Java.

The bay is only 2km long and 12m deep, encompassing two small islands.
It is close to the strait with currents sometimes reaching up to 9 nautical knots.
These currents provide rich nutritive waters which make this bay an ideal nursery for fishes where they can feed and reproduce.
All these elements put together allow for a very healthy and diversified marine life.

Inside the bay, we find still waters and a dark, sandy and sometimes muddy, seabed.
Master your buoyancy and avoid kicking the bottom if you want a good visibility for photography shots.

The best time to dive is at high tide when the visibility can reach up to 15m.
Night diving offers rare and amazing treasures.

This unique site will satisfy experienced divers and photographers on the lookout for something different.

Fauna:
angel fish, butterfly, razor fish, frog fish, damsel fish, nudibranchs, gobies, seahorses, batfish, sea urchins.

MENJANGAN

Location: North-West of Bali, 4h30 drive from Sanur and only 30 mns by boat.

The island of Menjangan provides dozens of sites where you can dive all year long.
It is located in the heart of the B (20,000 hectares of forest, country, mangroves and coastal areas) where access is regulated.

With very little current and a visibility sometimes up to 40m (dry season), Menjangan was known to be in the top 10 of the best spots of Asia in the 80’ and 90’.
But for the last 15 years the reef has lost some of its splendour due to different factors:
dynamite fishing, proliferation of the coral eating (acanthaster) starfish (1997), coral bleaching due climate warming (El nino, 1998).

Fortunately, only the shallow parts of the reef (15m max.) have been affected and are slowly recovering their former glory.

Menjangan is still quite famous for its walls and drops which have not suffered any damage.
They often start as a flat reef (10-15m) to then change into a succession of ridges, crevasses, breaks and caves.

From 25m down to 65m, these walls offer an incredible diversity of gorgonians, coral, sponges and comatules.
The fauna is very abundant in fish of all sizes but pelagics are hard to find considering that cold currents run from the North-East.

Amongst the best sites: the eel garden, POS II and the Anchor wreck.

THE “ANCHOR” WRECK

Type: deep, wreck, photography
Minimum level: experienced
Depth: 6 to 55 m
Current: nul to light
Visibility: 5 to 30 m
Access: boat dive
Remarks: wreck and reef

Location: To the North-west of Menjangan.

Nobody really knows its name and history although some say it was used for trading slaves in the 19th century. Ceramics, glass bottles and leather made objects were salvaged and the anchor sitting at 6m gave the wreck its name.

From the anchor, descend along the wall following the anchor’s chain (30m) to get to the second anchor which is covered in coral and lies at 32m.

What remains of the vessel is scattered here over sixty meters, between 35m and 50m deep. It is quite difficult to visualise the wreck and most of the planks and wooden parts are now carpeted with coral and algae. This environment provides shelter for various fish, crustaceans and molluscs.
Be aware of you air-consumption !

End your dive with a safety stop atop the wall and contemplate the drop, its breaks and many corners.

Fauna:
white tip sharks, blue spotted stingrays, groupers, moray eels, scorpion fish, nudibranchs.

EEL GARDEN

Type: wall, photography, deep
Minimum level: Open Water
Depth: 5 to 30 m
Current: nul to medium
Visibility: 15 to 30 m
Access: boat
Remarks: white sand, gorgonians, coral garden

Location: Western coast of Menjangan

You will find the biggest Gorgonians of Bali if you head south along the Eastern coast.

The wall which goes from 5 to 30 m deep, with its breaks and caves, hosts and amazing diversity of reef species.
Deeper, it changes into a sandy slope where white tip sharks are frequently spotted.

Ascending from 20 to 12m you will see dozens of garden eels and congers undulating to the rhythm of the sea/ocean.
And lastly the Coral garden, between 5 and 12m, garnished with sea anemones.

Fauna:
whitetip sharks, schools of barracudas, napoleons, congers, triggers, scorpion fish

POS II

Type: wall, drift, deep, photography
Minimum level: experienced
Depth: 6 to 50 m
Current: medium to strong
Visibility: 20 to 40 m
Access: shore or boat dive
Remarks: the best drops in Bali

Location: To the very South-Eastern tip of Menjangan.

The Eastern coast is quite exposed to currents, a good opportunity for drift diving.

Here, fabulous and vertiginous drops are guaranteed with depths greater than 60m, giant gorgonians, caves and grottos covered with soft coral.
Ascending thermoclines sometimes bring up manta rays and mola-mola from the abyss.

End your dive with the lovely coral garden (6 to 12m) where triggers and damsel fish live.

Fauna:
moray eels, scorpion fish, turtles, triggers, angel fish, nudibranchs, barracudas, sharks, manta rays and mola-molas.

SPECIAL RECOMMENDATIONS :

Plan the dive and dive the plan!
Menjangan offers quite easy dive conditions (little current or swell) but watch your depth and dive profile.
Most cases of Decompression Illness recorded in Bali occur in this area and generally affect over confident experienced divers.
Take time to plan your dive and stay well within your limits. Extend your time at shallow depths and during safety stops.
Practice longer surface intervals if you dive repeatedly and avoid alcohol between dives!

PURI JATI

Type: macro, photography
Minimum level: Open Water
Depth: 5 to 20 m
Current: nul
Visibility: 15 m
Access: shore dive
Remarks: dark sand, algae

Location: On the Northern coast, 4hrs drive from Sanur, between Lovina and Menjangan.

PJ (Puri Jati), is a young site where experienced divers, macro and photography enthusiasts will find their share of excitement.

Dark sand, volcanic rocks and mud make it a unique site.

The site is devoid of coral, sponges and gorgonians but contains treasures for those who know how to look.
Witness a rich marine life and creatures exclusive to this area.

Fauna:
blue ringed octopuses, mime octopuses, frog fish, ghost fish, sea dragons, sea horses, congers, shrimps, crabs.