Bali Diving

Pemuteran

2 kilometres to the east of Pemuteran (Permuteran) and a couple of kilometres offshore lies Napoleon Reef. This submerged reef rises to 5 metres from the surface and slopes down to 30 metres to the north, providing some easy paced scuba diving in north west Bali.

The slopes are dominated by soft corals, sea fans and small table corals. Shy masked porcupinefish peek out from under the ledges with their large, round eyes. Pygmy seahorses and spider crabs hang out in the pink gorgonians. The Pemuteran sea bed is covered with fields of clasping flower corals and delicate blue vase sponges. Close by on 22 metres lies the empty 16 metre long hull of a scuttled diving boat, generously "donated" by one of the local Bali dive operators. Reef-fin squid and large cuttlefish can be seen as well as the occasional school of bigeye trevally.

Other dive sites in the Pemuteran area, such as Close Encounters - famed for its encounters with big fish such as mackerel, tuna and barracuda, and Rock Garden, offer large fields of shore-based hard coral reefs and boulder pinnacles with a large array of macro life including colourful nudibranchs and flatworms.

In 1998 the House Reef at Pemuteran was devastated by El Niño. So in 2001, this reef became the first in Bali to be sponsored by an artificial re-generation project, funded by the Global Coral Reef Alliance and Yos Marine Adventures. Over 40 large grid-like structures of all shapes and sizes were sunk, and live coral samples were attached. The reef receives electronic stimulus from shore and responds with remarkable growth rates. The local village has buoyed the area and guard it as a no-fishing exclusion zone, so that fish stocks can re-group too. So far, although still incomplete, the project has proven to be a well-deserved success.

You can visit the area and dive around the various shapes and structures of the artificial reef and see for yourself the remarkable results of this ground-breaking, yet controversial method of preserving the marine habitat.

Pemuteran Reef Basics: Reef banks and invertebrates
Depth: 5 - 30m
Visibility: 10 - 25m
Currents: Gentle
Surface conditions: Calm
Water temperature: 26 - 29°C
Experience level: Beginner - intermediate
Number of dive sites: 5
Pemuteran Diving season: All year round; can be choppy in August
Distance: ~100 km northwest of Kuta (3½ hours)
Access: Bali dive resorts

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