Although the best diving in Menjangan is said to be Apr-Nov (during the south-east monsoon), the island can be dived year-round as it offers some of the most protected diving in Bali. The clarity of the water can, at times, be amazing, and the best in Bali – Oct-Nov often has horizontal visibility of 50M+. A current of more than 1 knot is unusual. It was in 1978 that Menjangan became Bali’s first internationally-known dive location. Consequently, in older dive guidebooks, Menjangan is described as having beautiful reef flats. Unfortunately that is no longer true. Over the years a combination of dynamite fishing and (dive!) boats anchoring into the coral have taken their toll.
Then, in 1997 there was a population explosion of the coral-eating Crown of Thorns starfish and, in 1998, coral bleaching as a result of El Nino. However, these reef flats (5-15M) are now showing strong signs of recovery and will, in all likelihood, come back with much greater diversity than they had before. On a more positive note, Menjangan is actually famous for the wall-diving and these walls were unaffected by the above problems. They descend to varying depths, the shallowest being 26m, the deepest 60M+. The walls offer the greatest diversity of gorgonian fans in Bali. They generally start at 10m with the flat coral reefs offering gentle conditions and lots of sunlight.
These are full of medium and small fish. The walls are full of small nooks and crannies, overhangs, and bigger cavelettes, crevasses, etc. They are covered with soft corals, gorgonian fans, sponges. There are only rare sightings of large fish (pelagics – ocean-going fish) in Menjangan due to the island being protected from the cold currents coming in from the open sea. The more popular dive sites at Menjangan are: The Eel Garden, Pos II and, for the more experienced, a deep dive (40M) to the Anker Wreck, a 150yr old wooden boat.
Bali Tours 