Sangihe · Indonesia · Coral garden
Montipora Garden
Montipora stands at 20 m off an uninhabited coral islet
Area photo: Neverjudge · CC BY-SA 4.0
Montipora Garden lies off Nenung, an uninhabited cluster of coral rock in the southern Sangihe islands that fishermen use as a rest stop. The garden is dived between six and fifteen metres, and the Montipora stands the point is named for sit deeper, at around twenty metres. Nothing below that is documented here, which makes it one of the shallower dives in the chain.
Also known as Pulau Nenung.
Where it is and how deep
3.0517° N, 125.6783° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Nenung is a low, uninhabited islet with no dive infrastructure of any kind, so everything happens off the boat: kit up, roll in, and descend onto the top of the coral garden at around six metres. The shallow shelf is the easy part of the dive, close enough to the surface that the coral holds its colour in daylight, and the reef is worked between six and fifteen metres for as long as the air and the plan allow.
Drop below fifteen metres and the Montipora stands are at about twenty, which is both where the site takes its name and the reason to leave the shallow shelf at all. Twenty metres is the floor of the dive as it is documented — no deeper section is published — so the second half is a long, unhurried climb back over the garden, with the safety stop hanging over coral rather than blue water.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Sangihe: Mar–Sep is the settled window for the crossing north from Manado; the north-west monsoon closes the chain from December to February.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Montipora Garden?+
The coral garden is dived between six and fifteen metres, and the Montipora stands the site is named for sit at around twenty metres, which is the deepest part of the dive that is documented.
Sources
- 14 Wisata Bawah Laut di Kepulauan Sangihe Ini Bikin Pangling Wisatawan — Kompas Travel
- OpenStreetMap: Pulau Nenung — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Sangihe
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Seamount
Vertical seamount wall dived at 25–30 m in swirling current
Coral garden
Shallow invertebrate reef in a bay boats overnight in
Coral garden
Coral garden and seagrass meadow at 10–15 m in clear water
Coral garden
Coral, Montipora and sponge garden from 2 m down to 20 m
Reef
Coral at 10–15 m with 20–25 m visibility between two islets
Seamount wall from 24 to 40 m with a wreck and twin anchors
Wall
Swim through submerged doorways and tunnels at about 25 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A calm coral garden at 5–20 m, the island's easiest dive
A shallow coral canyon on the tip of a rocky islet
The area's most reliable tasselled wobbegong sightings
Hard coral garden with a 20 m maximum and frequent sea snakes