Diving Candidasa: Explore Bali’s Best Dive Sites
If you’re looking for unforgettable underwater experiences, diving in Candidasa is a must. Located in Bali’s Amuk Bay, Candidasa offers some of the island’s top dive sites, ideal for experienced divers due to their challenging currents and incredible marine life.
Why Choose Candidasa for Diving?
The Candidasa diving area is part of an archipelago of three volcanic islands, each with its unique underwater landscape. These islands rise dramatically from the Indian Ocean, offering everything from colourful coral gardens to deep walls, swim-throughs and shark’s caves.
Highlights of Diving in Candidasa:
- Spectacular coral formations.
- Encounters with the elusive mola mola (sunfish).
- Diving with sharks, including whitetip reef sharks.
Due to the strong currents and complex topography, diving around Candidasa is recommended for advanced divers. Before diving, we always conduct a check dive to ensure safety and competence in current management.
✅ Dives reserved for Advanced divers only with experience in currents.
⚠️ Check-dive is required before diving in this area.
☑️ We recommend diving with Nitrox when doing two dives at the islands to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all divers.
💎 When sea conditions are favorable, this area is perfect for teaching deep dive specialty courses up to 40 and 60 meters.
The Best Dive Sites in Candidasa
1. Gili Biaha: Shark Cave and Deep Walls
One of the most popular dive sites in Candidasa is Gili Biaha, known for its Shark Cave. This small islet is located near Virgin Beach and offers a dramatic underwater landscape with walls descending to over 80 meters.
Shark Cave
The highlight of this dive is the Shark Cave, where divers often encounter resting whitetip reef sharks. Inside the cave, you may also spot lanternfish with glowing parasites under their eyes, giving the appearance of underwater fireflies when illuminated by a flashlight.
Pro Tip: The pressure from the ocean swell inside the cave is intense, so divers must constantly equalize their ears. Watching sharks swim through the cave’s blue entrance is a breathtaking moment you won’t forget.
During the dry season, mola mola visit Gili Biaha, seeking the cleaner fish that help rid them of parasites at the cleaning stations.
🌊 🐋 The most unforgettable moment of the dive happens when you’re inside the cave, looking out into the vast blue. If you’re lucky, you’ll witness the haunting silhouette of sharks gliding through the entrance, their graceful forms illuminated against the deep ocean. It’s a surreal and awe-inspiring sight, one that will stay with you long after the dive 🐋 🌊
2. Gili Tepekong: The Blue Hole, Shark Nursery, and The Canyon
Gili Tepekong is the largest of the three islands in Candidasa and a top spot for advanced divers. Its dramatic underwater topography includes The Blue Hole, a Shark Nursery, and the famous Canyon dive site.
The Blue Hole
The Blue Hole is a tunnel that starts at 16 meters and opens up at 28 meters, leading to a deep wall that drops beyond 80 meters. It’s a thrilling spot for deep dives, where divers frequently encounter resting white-tip sharks. In the right season, this is also an excellent place to spot mola mola.
Shark Nursery
On the northern side of Gili Tepekong, large boulders form a unique landscape known as the Shark Nursery, where juvenile sharks swim freely, sheltered by the rocks. Swimming among these massive formations is exhilarating, especially for those who enjoy exploring swim-throughs.
The Canyon
One of the most impressive dive sites in Candidasa is The Canyon on the western side of Gili Tepekong. The dive starts along a vertical wall, heading south until reaching the canyon—an incredible formation of huge rocks starting at 20 meters and descending to more than 60 meters.
At The Canyon, divers can see schools of fish swimming in the currents and white-tip reef sharks, Napoleon wrasses, and mola mola. From here, experienced divers can venture into the blue to explore Secret Island, an underwater pinnacle surrounded by vibrant coral and teeming with marine life.
🌊🐬 Visibility at The Canyon is often excellent, offering clear views of the depths and impressive rock formations. Surrounded by schools of fish, the vastness of the blue is truly awe-inspiring. 🌊🐬
3. Gili Mimpang: Thrilling Currents and Abundant Marine Life
Gili Mimpang is a small but spectacular archipelago of four large rocks, offering exciting and dynamic dives with stunning marine biodiversity. This dive site is ideal for advanced divers due to the strong currents often present, but the rewards are well worth the challenge.
What to Expect at Gili Mimpang
Marine life is abundant at Gili Mimpang. You can expect to encounter:
- White-tip and black-tip reef sharks patrolling the area.
- Large schools of jacks and sweetlips, gliding through the currents.
- Diverse reef fish such as clownfish, turtles, and colorful parrotfish.
The shallow southern side of Gili Mimpang offers a magical array of marine species. This part of the reef is adorned with:
- Hard coral bommies and majestic gorgonians.
- Large barrel sponges, home to various reef creatures.
- Crustaceans hiding beneath rocks and corals.
Mola Mola Encounters
During the mola mola season, this dive site becomes even more extraordinary. Gili Mimpang offers a prime location to encounter these rare ocean giants as they visit the cleaning stations. Their majestic presence is always a highlight, especially when combined with the already rich underwater biodiversity.
Strong Currents and Safety
Like all dive sites in Candidasa, Gili Mimpang is subject to strong currents, which can change direction quickly. This makes it suitable only for advanced divers with experience in drift diving. Despite the challenges, Gili Mimpang consistently delivers an unforgettable experience due to its incredible marine life and excellent visibility.
Pro Tip: Always keep an eye out in the cracks and crevices between the table corals and beneath the bommies, as these are favored hiding spots for reef sharks and other elusive species.
Dive Candidasa with Southern Dreams Diving Club
At Southern Dreams Diving Club, we offer personalized dive trips to explore the incredible underwater world of Candidasa. From deep walls and shark caves to encounters with the fascinating mola mola, diving in Candidasa is an experience like no other.
👉 Dive Bali Candidasa: Watch this video, of a normal day diving at Gili Biaha.
Video credit: Ludovic Amevor
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