Bangka Island · Indonesia · Coral garden · Reef
Busa Bora Barat
Three coral blocks on a garden falling from 3 m to sand at 30 m
Area photo: Fabio Achilli · CC BY 2.0
Busa Bora Barat is the western site of the Busa Bora cluster and the deepest of them: a coral garden that extends from 3 m all the way down to a sandy bottom at 30 m. Three coral blocks full of life sit on that slope and are what the dive is planned around, which gives an otherwise open reef a clear set of things to work between.
Where it is and how deep
1.7453° N, 125.1387° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The coral garden extends from 3 m down to meet the sandy bottom at 30 m, so this is the one site in the Busa Bora group with a genuine deep end. Teams generally descend the garden to the sand line first, spend the early part of the dive there while the tank is full, and then work the slope back up. The three coral blocks are the interesting part and are the natural waypoints on that route.
How much of the site you see depends on where you spend the deep minutes, because 30 m eats no-decompression time quickly on an air dive. Turning shallow early leaves a long, easy ascent up the garden with plenty to look at, and the 3 m top of the reef is where the safety stop happens. The two neighbouring Busa Bora sites are shallower, so if a 30 m profile is not wanted, ask for one of those instead.
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 garden reaches 30 m at the sand line, deep enough that no-decompression time runs out well before the gas does on air; plan the turn by depth, not by pressure.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Busa Bora Barat?+
The coral garden extends from 3 m down to the sandy bottom at 30 m, which makes it the deepest of the Busa Bora sites.
What is there to see at Busa Bora Barat?+
The site is a coral garden on a slope, and the feature divers are taken to is a set of three coral blocks described as full of life.
Sources
- Busa Bora Barat 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
Pinnacle
Three pinnacles stepping from 5 m down to a base near 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
Sponge-studded coral slope from 4 m to 25 m, usually currentless
Anemones and coral formations on a reef that drops to 30 m
Currentless coral slope from 3 m to 25 m, macro the whole way
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Two different dives from one walk-in entry