Diving Candidasa

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Scuba diving in Candidasa.

Amuk bay offers some of the best dive sites in Bali.

It has three volcanic islands with numerous dive sites and a Jetty. The islands offer some challenging dives for experienced divers, from deep walls, swim-throughs, and shark caves to stunning coral reefs. It is the perfect place to see big fish like reef sharks and mola mola, and also lots of tropical fish and turtles. On the other hand, the Jetty is an easy muck dive, perfect for macro lovers, where you can see the strangest creatures underwater, such as many different species of ghost pipefish, seahorse, and frogfish. All the dive sites in Candidasa area can be reached in a few minutes by boat. 

Dive Candidasa: Gili Biaha

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Shark cave – Gili Biaha

Gili Biaha is a small islet located just in front of the famous white sand beach.

This lava formation island emerges from the depths of the Indic Ocean up to the surface.

Highlights are the shark cave and its walls that go deeper than 80 meters. At the famous shark cave, white tip reef sharks have found their home. It is a very nice place to have a very close encounter with them. Also remarkable are huge lobsters, lantern fish, frogfish, and a great variety of nudibranchs. To top, occasionally during the season, we can spot oceanic sunfish.

However, we have to carefully plan this dive because currents and swells can be strong, especially around the new and full moons.

A very special feeling while diving in the cave is the big pressure from the swell. You will feel it in your regulator and your ears. For this reason, inside the cave, divers must constantly equalize their ears. 

The best moment of the dive is when you are inside the cave looking at the blue. If you are lucky, you can see the silhouette of the sharks swimming in the cave. It is an image you won’t ever forget. 

It is one of our favorite dives to teach deep dive specialty courses to 40 meters and 60 meters.

Diving Candidasa. Gili Tepekong

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School of yellow snappers, Candidasa

Gili Tepekong is the biggest of the three islands in Candidasa. Its unique topography makes it one of our favorite spots in the area.

Here, we can enjoy three different dive sites, all reserved for advanced divers: the canyon, the blue hole, and the shark nursery.

It is another perfect dive spot to learn deep dive specialty courses to 40 meters and 60 meters.

Blue hole

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Blue Hole – Gili Tepekong

The blue hole is a tunnel located at the island’s southern tip. It starts at 16 meters and ends at 28 meters, opening to the blue. Just at the end of the blue hole starts a very deep wall and a vast platform that continues to descend gradually deeper than 80 meters.

We often see resting white-tip sharks at the blue hole, which is a perfect spot to see Mola Molas in the right season.

From here, we usually head north, following the reef, where we can see giant boulders with a great biodiversity of marine life.

Like all the dive sites at the islands of Candidasa, it needs to be very well planned. At the tip of the island is where the currents from the deep ocean split and can trigger up, down, and mixed currents, which divers usually call the washing machine. 

Shark nursery

Highlights of the northern part of Gili Tepekong are the big boulders creating a unique topography. Diving in the middle of them and doing the swim-throughs is so much fun. No doubt the highlight is the shark nursery. Baby sharks love to swim protected in between the boulders. 

We continue our dive along the most protected eastern side of the island. Here grows a healthy reef that gradually drops deeper than 60 meters. Here we can find many hard corals forming bommies with large gorgonians. Likewise, fish life is very good. For example, you can see schooling sweet lips, batfish, fusiliers, jacks, cuttlefish, clownfish, and turtles. Also, large table corals give shelter to baby sharks.

The canyon

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Diving Candidasa with white tip reef sharks at The Canyon

The canyon is one of the most exciting and also challenging dives in Amuk Bay! It has a reputation for fierce currents, so it is reserved for experienced divers only.

Diving Candidasa. The canyon is located on the west-southern tip of the island.  We usually start the dive in the protected wall on the west side of the island. From there we head south until we arrive at the canyon. It starts at 20 meters depth and it goes deeper than 60 meters. Its underwater topography consists mainly of black basaltic rocks and boulders. If you swim further on the blue, you arrive at the secret island. It is an underwater pinnacle in the middle of the blue, full of life. 

The canyon is home to white-tip reef sharks, jacks, tunas, and mola-molas, as well as schools of sweetlips, batfish, snappers, and rainbow runners. We can often spot solitary Napoleon wrasses. 

Because of existing strong currents, coral growth is scarce. As a result, is only giant gorgonians growing. Visibility can be very good, but water temperature drops in the dry season to as low as 20 degrees in the deepest part.

This is a dive that we carefully plan and only under perfect conditions. We are sure it will be the one, you won’t forget for a long time.

Diving Candidasa. Gili Mimpang

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Diving with Mola Mola in Candidas, Bali

Gili Mimpang is a small archipelago of four big rocks. We usually start the dive at the Northside of the middle rock dropping straight to around 18 meters. Here we encounter a sloping reef. Full of hard and soft corals with many bommies and teaming with fish life. Usually current will carry us along that reef to the West.

On the way, we have the chance to spot white and blacktip sharks, schools of jacks, sweet lips, and many more different species of marine life. The shallow part of the reef on the southern side of the islands is just magical with a great variety of life. Examples are reef fish, clownfish, turtles, crustaceans and hard coral bommies, gorgonians, and also large barrel sponges. At this dive site, we usually enjoy very good visibility and in the season we have a chance to spot mola-molas.

Like all the dive sites in the area, Gili Mimpang may also present strong currents. Therefore, this dive site is only suitable for advanced divers.

Diving Candidasa – Jetty

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Frogfish. Diving at Jetty, Candidasa

This 300 meters long jetty, was completed in 2009. But actually, because of differences in international standards, it has never been used. Consequently has become home to the impressive biodiversity of strange creatures. In truth is a paradise for macro lovers.

In fact, the pillars of this jetty are fully covered with corals and also sea fans. Here, you can find a variety of crabs and also tiny prawns. On the other hand, on the sandy bottom, you can see a great variety of life. For example, many frogfish, pipefish, anemone fish, and snakes are buried in the sand. Also eels, stonefish, rhinopias, blue-ringed octopus, and countless sea slugs.

The topography is sandy bottom, and the depth is between 3 and 16 meters. This is undoubtedly the highlight muck dive in Candidasa.

The Jetty usually presents no current to moderate, as a result, this dive is easy and suitable for all levels.

Dive Bali Candidasa: Watch this video, of a normal day diving at Gili Biaha.

Video credit: Ludovic Amevor

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