Menjangan & West Bali · Indonesia · Coral garden · Reef
Middle Riff
Currentless coral slope from 3 m to 25 m, macro the whole way
Area photo: Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 4.0
A coral garden on the West Bali mainland coast, sloping from 3 m to 25 m with no current on it. It is dived by everyone from divers on their first open-water dives to people who have been coming for years, which in practice means slow, shallow passes over coral with a camera in hand.
Where it is and how deep
8.1288° S, 114.5658° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The reef runs as a slope from 3 m down to 25 m, and with no current on it the dive is entirely yours to shape. Groups generally drop to the lower end of the coral first and work upslope from there, which turns the whole dive into one long, gradual ascent and removes any need to swim back to a fixed exit point.
The upper part is where most of the time goes. It is shallow enough that gas lasts, and the site is dived by everyone from beginners to experts, with macro photography the reason most of them are there, so nobody is rushing anybody along. Finish over the top of the slope in a few metres of water, where the safety stop is spent looking at reef rather than hanging in the open.
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
Is Middle Riff suitable for beginners?+
Yes. The slope runs from 3 m to 25 m with no current, and it is dived by everyone from beginners to experienced divers, so the depth is a choice rather than a requirement.
Sources
- Middle Riff — Scubago
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