Kornati Islands · Croatia · Wall
Babuljasi
Red gorgonian colonies on the seabed instead of the wall
Photo: Argo Navis · CC BY-SA 4.0
Small and Big Babuljasi lie northeast of Žut, at the top of the Kornati chain. A wall starts on their south side very shallow, 10 to 15 m, then falls away to 45 m, and the site is known for red gorgonian colonies that grow on the ground at its foot rather than on the face - the reverse of the usual Kornati wall.
Also known as Small Babuljasi, Big Babuljasi.
Where it is and how deep
43.8743° N, 15.3538° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Babuljasi is two islands, Small and Big, northeast of Žut at the northern end of the archipelago. The wall begins on the south side of them, and it begins very shallow - 10 to 15 m of rock below the surface - which makes the opening of the dive a bright one and leaves an easy shallow shelf to finish on, whatever depth the middle of the plan reaches.
From that lip the wall falls away to 45 m. What the site is known for waits at the foot of it: red gorgonian colonies growing on the ground rather than on the face, the opposite of how the fans sit elsewhere in the Kornati. That is below the recreational line and below the 40 m ceiling the national park applies inside its zones, so a dive kept inside those limits works the wall above the colonies, then follows the gorgonians back up past bright yellow Savalia coral at about 26 m to the shallow rock in the south.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Kornati Islands: The park licenses diving Apr–Oct, warmest Jul–Sep; the bura wind closes the exposed outer walls at short notice.
Know before you go
- The wall runs to 45 m, past both the recreational line and the park's 40 m ceiling, and the ground keeps falling away: set a turn depth on the boat rather than at the gorgonians.
Photos from Babuljasi
Argo Navis · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Babuljasi Bougainville Diving Biograd · Rudi H on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the dive at Babuljasi?+
The wall begins very shallow on the south side, at 10 to 15 m, and falls to 45 m at its foot, where the red gorgonian colonies grow on the ground. Kornati National Park caps diving in its zones at 40 m.
Sources
- Babuljasi (dive site) — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
- Diving and snorkelling - Kornati National Park — Kornati National Park (official)
- Kornati National Park — Wikivoyage
Photo credits
- Babuljaš Mali islet off Žut, its pale rocky shore rising from calm Adriatic water. by Argo Navis, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Babuljaš Veli, a low green-topped islet rising from open water northeast of Žut. by Argo Navis, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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