Bangka Island · Indonesia · Pinnacle
Batu Tiga
Three pinnacles stepping from 5 m down to a base near 30 m
Area photo: Fabio Achilli · CC BY 2.0
Batu Tiga means three rocks, and that is exactly how the dive is laid out: three pinnacles stepping deeper away from the shallows. The first tops out at 5 m, the second sits at around 20 m and the third has its base near 30 m, so the site is dived as a descending chain rather than a single feature, with the depth decided by how far along it you go.
Where it is and how deep
1.7643° N, 125.1751° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive develops around three pinnacles, which is what the name records. You start on the first at 5 m, close enough to the surface to sort the team out before going anywhere, then slowly descend along the chain until the second rock comes up at about 20 m. From there the ground continues down to the third, whose base sits at roughly 30 m and marks the deep end of the dive.
Because the three rocks are separated, the profile is stepped rather than smooth, and gas and no-decompression time are what decide how much of the chain you get. Most teams take the deepest rock first while the tank is full and work back up the line, finishing on the shallow first pinnacle where a safety stop can be held against something solid. Bangka's exposed rocks stand in the channels between the islands, where the water moves, so the crossings between pinnacles are the part to plan with the guide.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Bangka Island: Mar–Nov is the settled season with the calmest channels; the north-west monsoon from December to February brings wind and swell.
Know before you go
- The gap between pinnacles is open water: lose the line of rocks in moving water and you finish the dive in the blue, so cross as a team on the guide's signal.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Batu Tiga?+
The first pinnacle starts at 5 m, the second is about 20 m deep and the third has its base at around 30 m, so the dive can be run at any depth between those points.
What does Batu Tiga mean?+
Three rocks, or three pinnacles, which is the layout of the site: the dive develops around three separate pinnacles rather than one.
Sources
- Batu Tiga dive site — Scubago
More dive sites in Bangka Island
Pinnacle
Vertical cracks and caves in volcanic pinnacles, sharks below
Wall
Coral slope from 3 m to a wall that drops to 30 m
Pinnacle
A canyon-cut plateau at 15 m before the drop to 40 m
Coral garden
Three coral blocks on a garden falling from 3 m to sand at 30 m
Coral garden
Healthy coral garden from 3 m down to 18 m off the village
Reef
Coral blocks on sand, with schooling fish over a slow slope
Coral garden
Coral garden from 1 m to sand at 13 m, straight off the beach
Elephant ear sponges and soft coral on rocks that break the surface
Similar dives elsewhere
A swim-through at 22 to 25 m lined with crinoids
A holed rock at the surface, a coral-covered pinnacle below
Drop-offs and channels with a pinnacle rising from 14 m to 8 m
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Cleaning stations on the summit, mantas on the flanks in season