Menjangan & West Bali · Indonesia · Sand slope · Coral garden
Eel Garden Joly
Coral blocks scattered over sand between 10 m and 20 m
Area photo: Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 4.0
A gently sloping sandy area on the west side of Menjangan, running from about 10 m down to 20 m and broken up by colourful coral blocks standing clear of the bottom. There is no current, so the dive is a slow wander from block to block rather than anything you have to keep up with, and the shallow profile leaves a long bottom time.
Also known as Menjangan - Eel Garden Joly.
Where it is and how deep
8.0948° S, 114.5013° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Boats come across from the mainland park jetty and put you in on the west side of the island, where the bottom is sand rather than the vertical rock the island is better known for. You descend onto a gentle slope that starts around 10 m and runs down to roughly 20 m, with coral blocks set at intervals across it. There is no current to plan around, so you simply pick a direction and work the blocks one at a time.
Each block is its own small reef, which makes the dive a series of short stops rather than a single route: circle one, look into the gaps in it, then cross open sand to the next. Nothing here is deep enough to cut the dive short, and 20 m is as far as the slope goes, so most groups spend the back half of the tank among the shallower coral before coming up. It works best as the second or third dive of the day, after one of the island's walls.
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 Menjangan & West Bali: Divable all year thanks to the lee of Java; Apr–Nov is driest, and the wet season only affects surface conditions.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Eel Garden Joly?+
The sandy slope runs from about 10 m to 20 m, so the whole site sits inside a standard recreational profile and there is no deep section to plan for.
Sources
- Menjangan - Eel Garden Joly — Scubago
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Wall
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Sand slope
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Wall
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Sand slope
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Similar dives elsewhere
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