Gili Islands · Indonesia · Pinnacle
Deep Turbo
Sea mounds rising from sand at 30 m to about 18 m
Area photo: Magul · CC BY-SA 4.0
A deep site off the northeast of Gili Trawangan where large sea mounds rise out of a sandy bottom at 30 m, the biggest of them topping out around 18 m. The mounds carry overhangs and outcrops rather than flat coral, and the dive is spent circling and crossing between them. It is the deeper end of what the Gilis offer.
Where it is and how deep
8.3353° S, 116.0475° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The descent goes down to sand at 30 m, and the shape of the site becomes clear from there: large sea mounds standing up out of the flat bottom, ranging in size, the biggest rising to about 18 m. Dropping in deep and looking up at them is the reason to dive this way round rather than working down from the top. Bottom time at 30 m is short, so the plan is usually to reach the sand, orient on the nearest mound and start climbing.
Each mound carries overhangs and outcrops rather than an even coral surface, so the swim around one is a series of ledges and cut-backs to look under. Rising as you circle keeps the profile going the right way, and the tops at around 18 m are where most of the dive gets spent. Cross to a second mound if gas allows, then ascend off the top of it into open water for the safety stop with the boat following your bubbles.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Gili Islands: Divable year-round; Apr–Nov brings the calmest crossings, and mola mola occasionally appear Aug–Oct on the deeper sites.
Sources
- Deep Turbo - Gili Trawangan — Scubago/SSI
More dive sites in Gili Islands
Wall
A vertical face dropping from 5 m to 30 m off Gili Air
Old bicycles under coral on a pontoon that sank in 2003
Juvenile whitetips tucked into small caves along a drifting slope
Sand slope
Broken rubble ground from 5 m to 16 m, then open sand
Sand slope
Macro life on bommies scattered down a sand slope
Turtles in numbers along a wall that bottoms out at 22 m
Reef
Whitetip sharks and turtles on three coral levels at 18-24 m
Reef
Deep reef meeting sand at 30 m off the northern Gilis
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
Three pinnacles stepping from 5 m down to a base near 30 m
.jpg){kind=link}
Drop-offs and channels with a pinnacle rising from 14 m to 8 m