Tulamben Diving Sites east of Bali

A small village on the north-east coast of Bali
TYPE OF DIVE:	Shore Diving, Wreck-diving, Wall-diving, Night-diving, Deep-diving, photography (Batu Kelebit is a 5min outrigger journey from Tulamben)
VISIBILITY:	12 - 25 metres
CURRENT:	Zero to mild currents
DEPTHS:	3 - 40 metres (average depth 18 metres)
MIN LEVEL:	Introductory - suitable for every level and interest!
HIGHLIGHTS:	Extraordinary diversity of marinelife, huge school of Big-eyed Trevally. 120-metre shipwreck, beautifully coloured wall. Full Moon Night Dive. Great photographic opportunities and colour contrast with the black sand. AquaMarine's first choice for our special 1 Day Intro Adventure Diving Program. Great snorkelling site.
CONDITIONS:	Black sand slope with a 120-metre shipwreck, coral gardens and a wall. The fist-sized black stones can make entry tricky when there are waves present.

Tulamben is the most famous area for diving in Bali and therefore where you are more probable to the photographers and the writers internationally recognized of the meeting. The bay of Tulamben, like the rest of Bali, is located in richer the marine biogeografy zone of the world. Being in the northeast coast, the bay have very rich plankton waters of the main current of the ocean that moves from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. This, joined with the fact that the three main sites of the plunge provide totally diverse physical atmospheres, means that Tulamben contains an imposingly diverse underwater ecosystem. The beach is the fist-classified black volcanic rocks that become sand in shallows. This black sand does not provide the reflective characteristics of the white sand like the limestone stone, combined with the amount of plankton in the water, it does not explain the relatively low visibility (12-25M). Nevertheless it provides a dramatic resistance, that brings outside towards the colors of the chorales, gorgonians, the fish and the other marine life. 100s of the macro-species that live here mixes and puts wonderfully in resistance with the sand.Tulamben is a wonderful place to learn to plunge themselves and to learn on underwater life. There is sightings occasional of the Mola-Mola (Sunfish), Manta rays, whale shark, the tuna and the other pelagic but is the permanent population of Tulamben. The shipwreck of the freedom of USAT the most famous site of the plunge of Bali. Circa constructed to east WWI cargo vessel was equipped of the arms for WWII, torpedoed by the Japanese of Lombok; in spite of attempts to tow the ship to North Bali it took in too much water so it was beached in Tulamben. On the years any re-usable thing was cleared. In 1963, with the land tremors of the eruption passed of the Agung assembly, the ruin slipped more far under the hill where still it lies (as near the beach as it can be and still to be underwater). The freedom almost lies parallel coast outside of approximately 30m to the beach in the hill of the sand and is advisable for all the levels of the qualification and the experience. The ruin lies in depths from 9-30m; the lowest part of the ruin, where it touches the hill of the sand, is in 5-10m. The depth throughout the center of the ruin is 16-20m. The edge more under the ruin, the future plain the hill, is 20-28m (in the high tide). The ruin is 120m long, he is broken enough upon (no penetration possible) but you can immovable consider the arms, dressing tables, the boilers, the chain of anchor, the etc. Is a charming site of the plunge, possibly the easiest plunge of the ruin of the world. You also can tube respirator in the ruin - the point upper of the stern is near 4m underneath the surface. The visibility is generally 18-25m, low when there is been raining. There is rarely a present present, at the most he will be smooth. During the 3 days before the Full Moon, there are waves generally. Temperature of the air is 25-32degrees, the water 26-28degrees. Trevally (cats), ruin of the freedom, Tulamben the ruin is very popular between the photographers then encrusted totally in anemone, gorgonia and chorales. The black sand provides an excellent resistance of the color for the incredible variety of marinelife, that includes an enormous school (literally 100s) of the fish of silver 10-12inch calls Great Trevally and on 400 other species of fish. All the fish are very domestic (partly as resulting from some guides that feed them, something a practice of the non environmentally sound of the Goatfish and the Wrasse that mordiscan around your feet and fins during exit door to the Unicornfish and to the Surgeonfish that make a (that alarms the first time slightly to you to see them) beeline for your mask as you swim down towards the ruin. It is absolutely difficult to enumerate what you will see because you will see just mainly in any tour guide Hindu-Pacific of Reef if you plunge yourself here. Of the Anglerfish meticulous, nudibranches, the Pipefish of the ghost, the neon systems of camarón/de goby, to traverse to the areas of the eels of the garden and clouds multi-colored of anthias and damsels and ignited to the schools of Sweetlips, Batfish, fusiliers, Butterfly fish, the variety is amazing. Then there are the invertebrates, the hard and smooth chorales, choral black, sponges with crinoids, ventilators of the sea, tunicates. If you plunge early the first snorkeling in the ruin (only possible if you remain during the night) you can, you can, to see the turtle. It is the best hour to plunge the ruin. The jump at night in the ruin is great specially during the Full Moon. You can see Spanish dancers, fish of the lantern, fosforescencia. The wall has profuse sponges, corals, black coral bushes, gorgonian fans - at 30M there's one that reaches 2M in width that we visit for the Deep Dive on Advanced Courses. The wall, the lava spur, then reverts to being a steep slope.The fish life is similar to that found on the wreck but being a much larger area, is less dense. However, more often than on the Wreck, you will see white tip reef shark, large Napoleon Wrasse, big Bumphead Parrotfish, some big Filefish (including Scrawled), and large Moray Eel. Late afternoon is the time to see the wide variety of Lionfish that live here, I'm not the person to ask why we see so many of them! There have been sightings of Whale Shark in as little as 9M of water, and much deeper, Hammerhead Shark. The back reef at the top of the Wall, averaging 5M, contains an excellent 'aquarium section', including cuttlefish, octopus, boxer crabs and many other unexpected treasures, enabling you to finish your dive at around 5m for pretty much as long as you want to. This is, of course, also very popular with snorkelers. The Coral Garden Blue Ribbon Eel, Tulamben Coral Garden Blue Ribbon Eel Adult Female Rhinomuraena quaesita Running along the middle section of Tulamben beach is a shallow reef (averaging 8-12m so also excellent for snorkelling) of mainly table and fire corals interspersed with anemones as well as barrel and other sponges. The fishlife, as with the Drop-off and the Wreck, is very diverse. It is here that you can see a surprising number of Blue Ribbon Eels (the juveniles are black) and octopus, the variety of shrimp is surprising too along with the different anemonfish. The bigger fish seen here are Bumphead Parrotfish and Black Tip reef shark. The depth and location make the Coral Garden a very good, and popular, Night Dive on which you may see Spanish Dancers and flashlight fish. In fact the diving actually extends much deeper than 12M, if you carry on down the sand slope, you'll find barrel sponges with many surprises: juvenile Emperor Angelfish, Two-spot Lionfish, maybe a school of juvenile catfish; cleaning stations with shrimp and wrasse, a shoal of Razorfish swaying in their hiding place. If you continue along the slope, towards the start of the Drop-off, you'll come to a dry river bed, scooped out into a bowl-shape, marked by ridges radiating outwards. These ridges are often the best places in Tulamben to find unexpected specimens. Although it is certainly not an area for divers looking for a profusion of marinelife! Batu Kelebit (Kelebit Rocks) A 15 min. jukung (local outrigger) ride east from Tulamben Bay will take you to these two large rocks that lie just offshore. The dive site is quite dramatic and consists of three steep ridges encrusted with an incredible diversity of hard corals, beautiful sea fans, fire corals and sponges and between these ridges are channels of white sand. Coleman Shrimp in Fire Urchin Coleman Shrimp in Fire Urchin Periclimenes colemani In fact, it is not only the colour of the sand that differs from Tulamben Bay, the species of even the most common reef fish are different too. The marine life varies from the tiny up to the very large: the steepness of the site combined with the structure of the ridges (and plankton-rich water) means you also have much more chance to see pelagics including barracuda, tuna, manta and white tip reef shark here than you do within the Bay. The diving here is colder than within Tulamben Bay and not only because the diving here is generally deeper: there's a cold water eddy that comes up from the depths. Visibility is generally as low as 15-20M due to the amount of plankton in the water. The current can be quite strong at times but the channels are well-protected.

Candidasa, East of Bali Tourism Area

 One of the tourism area in Karangasem is Candidasa, Candidasa maybe not as popular as Kuta or Nusa Dua, but Candidasa now days has many of Hotel and Restaurant with the lower price of course. The rate of Hotel in candidasa aroun 10-12 US$ that is so much cheaper than Kuta and Nusa Dua Rate.The advantage of candidasa is the situation is quite natural and not so much crowded like in Kuta or Nusa Dua, that why Candidasa ever be the most favourite place for Europe Tourist in the last years.

When the new road of "Ida Bagus Mantra" opened, the way to candidasa can take only 40 minutes from Denpasar. That is the same time of we want to go to Nusa Dua from Denpasar.
Candidasa have a quiet and natural white sand, maybe better than Kuta or Nusa Dua now days. Because there not so many population around there.
Soooo... if you have plan to visit the Nusa Dua or Kuta 30 years ago you can go to Candidasa that has a situation like Nusa Dua or Kuta at the past.

Temple of Lempuyang Luhur

Temple of Lempuyang Luhur located in the mountain of Lempuyang, Karangasem regency, east Bali . Hindu of named Balinese the sad Khayangan Agung Lempuyang Luhur, that it is the place for Hyang Iswara and Hyang Agni Jaya. Wali/piodalan(sacred day) held every six months, exactly in wuku Dungulan, Umanis Galungan, Thursday, or the day after the ceremony of Galungan. To go to the temple of Lempuyang from Denpasar, is about 80 kilometers, a trip about 2 hours to the east. Throughout the way, you will see landscape, the beautiful panoramas of the field of the rice and rivers.










There are 3 ways to go there, that is:
1. Way of Kemuda/Purwayu; to pass the village of Ngis Tista, Kemuda, Penataran Agung Lempuyang Luhur in Purwayu, Telaga But, To pass Agung to Lempuyang Luhur.
2. Way of Basangalas; passing the village of Ngis Tista, Basangalas, Banjar Gamongan, Telaga Sawang, Mpu Gni Jaya de Lempuyang right Madya-Parahyangan it advanced towards Luhuring Lempuyang Madya, To finally pass Agung and to Lempuyang Luhur.
3. Way of the regency of Karangasem; of the village of Bukit straight-line to the village of Jumeneng, temple of Kenusut, To pass then Agung and to Lempuyang Luhur.














Be careful, because in the rainy season the ways are very slippery and fangosos. But for those of you who like the adventure and the love to consider the mystery of the nature, the trip will bring to much diversion and pleasure to you. The temple of Lempuyang contains many of mysteries of of long term does, when Hyang Pasupati sang recommended Hyang Gni Jaya along with Hyang Putra Jaya and Dewi Danuh to save Bali of disaster. More ahead, according to the villagers, so or as to request, there is also the people such as who to come to the temple of Lempuyang for other intentions, to recover of diseases, she avoids bad, and is even politicians or the civil employees who request that its authority is in favor of always or tries to obtain certain position. They come generally in means at night, to avoid the public. It comes please to the temple of Lempuyang and obeys the rules in entering that the sacred place, so that your security is guaranteed. To request any direction of the Pure Pemangku (the person that is responsible for the temple) or any civil employee so that your trip is safe.

The means of Lempuyang have three versions which is :
1. Lempuyang take from the word lampu (light) that mean Lempuyang is a light from the God to stare all over the world.
2. Lempuyang take from the word Lempuyang which is a kitchen seasoning that can be used for some traditional medicine.
3. Lempuyang take from the word "emong or empu" that can be mean of the Guardian.

Lempuyang is one of the six major Temple in Bali besides Andakasa Temple, Uluwatu Temple, Watukaru Temple, Ulun Danu Batur Temple and Besakih Temple, Lempuyang take place in the East, in Balinese Myth, East direction is Guarding by Dewa Iswara that allways keep Bali allways stay in peace.

Besakih Temple in Karangasem

“ Mother of the Temple ” of Bali the overflow in the hills of theMount Agung feels Pure Besakih, referred extensively like the “Center of All temple” of the Hinduism in Bali. Pure Besakih, or the temple of Besakih in English, is greatest temple in Bali 11,000 or so Hindu temples, their 35 chapels and corridors draw throughout to devotee of Bali in massive numbers every year. The world is lucky to have Besakih. In 1963 the Agung assembly, a volcano, entered eruption and destroyed several next villages. Besakih was without touching. The temple is agreed generally to date again to prehistoric times in Bali. One names for the Naga Besukian -- the thought of the dragoon-God by pre-Hindu Balinese to inhabit this, the highest mountain of Bali. But at the beginning of 11mo Besakih century in a while became the temple of the state in which Bali was not no bad kingdom. It has continued being the temple of the state in a certain form or another one since and is financed by the government today. Like most of the temples of Balinese, Besakih is a closed nonbuilding but a subject mainly outdoors.

One is made up of patios with the altars and chapels dedicated to a number of Gods. And those Gods have better things to do than hardly to hang around a temple; the Balinese thinks that the Gods visit a temple particular dates -- and those dates the festivales of the grasping of Balinese to the honor (or to appease) the Gods. Of all the temples in Bali seises supremely is “holy: ” Pure Besakih, Pure Lempuyang Luhur, Pure Gua Lawah, Pure Batukaru, Pure Pusering Jagat, and Pure Uluwatu. Of these, Besakih is stopped above than the others -- because it so does not feel the some 3000 or feet on the ocean in the side of the mountain, but because he is more sacred to the Balinese. It reputes the only temple without class, casteless in the island in where any Hindu of Balinese can come to adore itself. The Hinduism de Bali is unique. Many scholars think that he gives a Vista us of the Hindu belief since much they existed 1500 ago to 2000 years. It was the Hinduism once the dominant religion in much of Asia South-Eastern and empires in the region where governed by the God-kings -- the empires have taste of Funan, Sri Vijaya, Angkor, and Bali.
The Hinduism de Bali is less made fragments than the one of modern India. Balinese is said generally to adore a God, the Brahman, who pronounces in several forms or personalities. The lees Arnold, in their article on the temples of Bali, quote an anonymous Balinese that explains its opinions: “I am as soon as a person; it can be that he is someday farmer, another one a conductor, another one a cook, but I continue being only one person.” Of the same form the “Hindu Gods” Siva and Vishnu (Siwa and Visnu in Balinese) are diverse really right manifestations of a God, Brahman, in theology of Balinese. Whereas this can be truth, the temples finish generally upon the portion like places in where one of the manifestations of the Brahman is adored; and Besakih is dedicated to a great extent to the adoration of Siva. Whereas the Hinduism de Bali can provide a glance in the religion beyond her is of no pure way. The religion of Balinese has kept Islam in the bay, but it has absorbed the animism and the adoration of ancestor native cultic Malay along with aspects of the Buddhism de Mahayana.
The anniversary of the temple, Odalan, is an excellent day to visit if you are looking for boato. But you must count on a a crowd of I vary thousand people. That ceremony comes in the tenth month of the calendar of Balinese, generally in April.

Tirta Gangga Karangasem Regency

History: The garden of the water of Tirtagangga was constructed in 1948 by the king of Karangasem, Anak Agung Anglurah Ketut Karangasem. This garden of the water was constructed in a very unique architecture of Balinese and Chinese styles.

Location: Tirtagangga is located in the village of Ababi, districto of Abang. It is near 83 kilometers of Denpasar and to 6 kilometers of Amlapura to the north.
Facility: The facilities available in this area are small hotels, small restaurants and the food is clogged, stores of the art and a portion of the parking area.

Description: The garden of the water of Tirtagangga scratches in an area of 1,2 hectares, that consists of three complexes. The first complex lies more in the level under this area, where we can find two pools and one tower of the water. The second complex in the mean level is the location in where we can find the swimming pools; whereas in the third part, that is the main complex, we can find the house of the rest of the king. Before the construction of the garden of the water, there was a water of great means in this area. Therefore the people who surrounded the area called east place “embukan” that she means the means water. The water of then means was worked to also satisfy the necessity with the people of the water and of the “purification” with the Gods (Ida Betara).
The monk to also construct to this garden of the water of the tranquil for his house of the rest and for the fresh climate of people the function and this area, plus the vision around, inspired king leisure and the pleasure.

Silayukti Temple in Padang Bai

As a door that connected Bali to Lombok, padang Bai has a harbor for some of ship to carry a people to moving trans island to Lombok island. Its quite cheap to go to lombok by fery, and only take about 20 minutes. even you can take your car also. Better than by plane that will cost you about 3 until 5 times much expensive cost.

In padang Bai you also can see a white sand shore, and lot of traditional fishing ship that still oftenly used by the traditional fisherman aroud the Village.
If you have plan to swim, Padang Bai is a good place to go.


North of the Bay, you can visit the Silayukti Temple. The temple consist of four major Temple and some of small temple around it. People in Bali believe Silayukti is one of the Oldest Temple in Bali.Legend say that Silayukti Temple was built by Empu Kuturan, a sacred priest from Java, that introduce the caste system to Bali in 11'th centuries. Every six balinese month, or excactly 210 days, there is a celebration in the temple. Most of Balinese people come to Silayukti Temple to pray, the celebration usually held in three days.If you have plan to stay for a vew days, there is some Hotel near the temple that you can visit.Maybe the Silayukti Temple is not famous as the Besakih Temple, but if you have time better you visit this place if you have plan to visit it as one of the east of Bali tourism area.

Labuhan Amuk Odyssey

A little bit north of Padang Bai you can visit the Labuhan Amuk area, Labuhan amuk famous with it's Coral reef view. Most of the tourist do the snorkeling around the Labuhan Amuk area.

Now in Labuhan amuk also build a new Odyssey Submarine that make you easy to see the underwater coral in there, without fear that yous body will scratch by the coral if you do a manual snorkeling because some time the water is very swallow and not enough place to for your body between the coral and the water.
With this submarine, the visitor can see various of coral and fish in the very wonderfull marine view.The submarine can reach 35 metres underwater for 45 minutes. For only 50 $ you can enter the submarine with 4x17 metres size and 72,6 ton weight, after you do a reservation of course.This submarine maybe the fisrt underwater travelling submarine in South East Asia.