Emerald, also called Embral, sits at the end of the large volcanic wall that begins with the Drop-Off in Tulamben village. It is a wall of coral running to a maximum of 40 metres, reached only by traditional jukung, with bommies, trevallies, wrasse, anemonefish and tuna along it and a sunken car at 30 metres.
Also known as Embral.
Where it is and how deep
8.2835° S, 115.6029° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Emerald is the end of a large volcanic wall that starts with the Drop-Off in Tulamben village, so the dive is a wall dive in the plain sense: you drop in from the jukung, take a depth on the coral and follow the face. The wall of coral runs to a maximum of 40 metres, which is deeper than the dive needs to be, and the usual approach is to pick a level and hold it.
Bommies stand off the wall and are worth working around, with trevallies, wrasse, anemonefish and tuna along the face. Structures have been sunk on the site as well, including a car at 30 metres, which sits within reach of a deeper pass if you plan for it. Finish shallow along the top of the wall and let the jukung pick you up off the face rather than swimming for a shore that is not there.
Background
Emerald, also known as Embral, is the far end of the large volcanic wall that begins with the Drop-Off in Tulamben village, so the site is the tail of the same volcanic coast that shapes the rest of the area's diving. The wall is not entirely natural at depth: structures have been sunk here, including a car placed at 30 metres, which sits on the site alongside the bommies and the coral face.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Tuna
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Tulamben: Diveable all year. April to July and October to November give the calmest, clearest water; December to March is the rainy season, with more run-off and fewer divers.
Know before you go
- The wall runs to 40 metres and gives no natural stopping point, so fix a depth before you descend and keep the top of the coral in sight as your reference.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Emerald in Tulamben?+
The coral wall runs to a maximum of 40 metres. A sunken car sits at 30 metres, but the dive can be run far shallower along the face, where the bommies, trevallies, wrasse, anemonefish and tuna are.
Sources
- Emerald - Dive Site — SSI/Scubago
More dive sites in Tulamben
Reef
Easy shore reef a few hundred metres from the Liberty wreck
Artificial reef
Buddhist statues and Hindu temple fragments overgrown with coral
A wall to 60 m with a gorgonian fan at 27 metres
Reef
Five minutes by jukung to a coral slope dropping to 40 metres
Muck & macro
Coral-grown structures at nine metres, dived for shrimp and nudibranchs
Reef
Schools of juvenile blue triggerfish over a miniature reef
Black sand at 10 m with mimic octopus and frogfish
Muck & macro
Fine sand and rock past 30 metres, dived for the small stuff
Similar dives elsewhere
Gorgonians and soft coral on a limestone wall, averaging 20 m
Limestone and white sand, a wall to 35 m, rarely any current
Sanctuary wall from 3 m to 40 m with sea fan forests
A long northern wall with hammerheads in the current below