Amed
Northeast coast of Bali
The east side of the north facing shallow bay of Cemeluk has dense stands of sloping staghorn corals, teeming with cardinalfish. Here you can see striped convict tangs, sailfin tangs and orange-lined triggerfish quite close to the shoreline.
Off the slope, you will come to a steep wall of hydriods, sponges and sea fans, dropping down to over forty metres. The fish life here is prolific with bluefin trevally, bumphead parrotfish, tuna, black and white snappers, Indian triggerfish cascading down the walls. Dense growths of gorgonian fans and barrel sponges, and large outcroppings dot the reef, harbouring common lionfish and bearded scorpionfish.
The west side of the bay offers some quite contrasting Bali scuba diving. Here, you’ll start in the shallow coral flats with scattered bommies and metal artificial reef crates on the grey sand bottom, before making your way to the deeper ocean-facing wall. There are gorgonians here too, colourful soft coral trees and masses of tube sponges. Dozens of blue-spotted stingrays rest in the shallows and red octopus are quite common here too.
Back in the sandy shallows of the bay there is some coral bleaching from the El Niño of 1998, where the natural reef recovery process is slow but gradual. However, keep your wits about you, as this is one of the best places on the island to find shy ribbon eels in the sand, and clown triggerfish.
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Amed Reef Basics: Prolific hard corals and fish life
Depth: 5 – >40m
Visibility: 10 – 25m
Currents: Gentle
Surface Conditions: Calm
Water Temperature: 22 – 26°C
Experience Level: Beginner – intermediate
Number of dive sites: 2
Diving Season: All year round, but can be difficult December to March
Distance: ~75 km northeast of Kuta (3 hours)
Access: Bali dive resorts
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