Menjangan & West Bali · Indonesia · Sand slope · Coral garden · Wall
Sandy Slope
Shallow coral top with a drop-off to 40 m on its north side
Area photo: Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 4.0
Halfway along the reef between Coral Garden and Dream Wall, this is a shallow coral top over sand with a drop-off at its northern end that falls to 40 m. Soft and hard coral, sea fans and large numbers of fish sit on the upper section, which stays shallow enough to snorkel while divers work the deeper edge.
Where it is and how deep
8.0905° S, 114.5130° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Most dives start on the shallow part, which is a mix of soft and hard coral, sea fans and a lot of fish over a sand bottom — the same ground snorkellers cover from the surface while the group is down. It is flat enough to swim across in any direction, so the shallow section is worked at whatever pace the group wants rather than followed as a single line of rock.
Swimming north brings you to the edge, where the slope turns into a drop-off that runs down to 40 m. That is where the profile is set: take it as deep as the plan allows, then come back up onto the shallows and finish the dive there, which puts the safety stop over coral instead of open water. The site lies halfway along the reef between Coral Garden and Dream Wall, so the deep edge is only one part of what a dive here can be.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| 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.
Sources
- Sandy Slope — Scubago
More dive sites in Menjangan & West Bali
Wall
Sea fans and frogfish on a wall, a 150-year-old wreck below
Wall
A face to 60 m, pocked with gaps that fish shelter in
Coral garden
Sponge-studded coral slope from 4 m to 25 m, usually currentless
Reef
Clear water from 3 m to 40 m, 15 minutes off Pemuteran
Wall
Steep wall from 3 m to 45 m, running east into hard coral
Wall
Sea fans down a 40 m face between two of the island's classics
Sand slope
Sand dunes full of garden eels, with eagle rays overhead
Sand slope
Coral blocks scattered over sand between 10 m and 20 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Sandy slope that becomes a wall at around 22 m
Limestone and white sand, a wall to 35 m, rarely any current
Sand, sponges and coral, with a wall dropping to 40 m
A wall to 40 m that turns a corner into a coral field