Diving


Advertisement
Indonesia's flag
Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Tulamben
July 2nd 2010
Published: September 7th 2010
Edit Blog Post

I've been addicted to dive since February this year. Especially after I get my diving Certificate. One of my favourite spot is Tulamben.

Tulamben is a small fishing village on the north-east coast of Bali. It is located on Kubu ditrict, Karangasem Region. It is about 100 Km from my house in downtown capital of Bali, Denpasar. Takes about 3.5 hours motorcycle riding. It is among the most popular dive sites on Bali since the wreck of the Liberty, a US Army Transport ship torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942 lies just off shore. During high-season, up to 100 divers descend to the wreck each day. The town's name is derived from the word batulambih, which roughly translates as "many stones" a reference to the destructive eruptions by Mount Agung that have effected this part of Bali from time to time. The modern name evolved over time, first to "Batulamben" and finally settling on the contraction Tulamben ("batu" means "stone" in Indonesian).

The wreck lies in shallow water and is considered appropriate for divers of all certification levels. The ship rests in 30 meters of water, is roughly 25 meters from shore and can be reached with a short swim from the beach. The highest point of the wreck tops out about 5 meters from the surface. The ship was torpedoed by the Japanese off the nearby Island of Lombok and the ship was towed to the beach at Tulamben for salvage operations. The 1963 eruption of Mt. Agung, which devastated much of the eastern side of Bali, drove the ship into the water just off shore, where it became encrusted with coral and a home to other sea life.

The best conditions for diving here are during October and November, when the weather is generally calm and during the start of southeast monsoon, which typically extends from May to July. In addition to a wide variety of corals and invertebrates on the wreck itself, large fish frequent the wreck in some seasons, most popularly Mola mola and whale sharks. Professional divers have praised local residents for minimizing local fishing activity.


Advertisement



Tot: 0.07s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 14; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0433s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb