Lembeh Strait Scuba Diving

Nudi Falls

Your Lembeh diving boat will tie itself to both a low impact anchor as well as some over hanging trees at this site near the water's edge. The sheltered nature of the bay and the proximity to the land makes it feel like a lake dive. You will notice, as you roll over the edge, that the water is normally a degree or 2 cooler than at Bunaken.

You will start slowly down over a dark sandy slope to about 25 m where the bottom is covered in soft corals like a bed of cauliflower. Look out for ribbon eels and shrimp and goby partners around here before coming to the mini-wall that is this site's main feature.

On the floor and the rocky base of the wall is where you can spot most action with flying gurnards, frogfish, mantis shrimps and pipefish all likely to be around. While amusing yourself here your guide will likely be scouring a fan on the wall for pygmy seahorses. These tiny, cute, little creatures must be the highlight of any dive as they seem to stare impassively ahead puffing their cheeks.

As you'd expect from the dive site's name, there are loads of nudibranchs. Gliding over gooseberry ascidians and stinging hydriods, nudibranchs sense water movement with horn-like organs on their heads called rhinophores. The colourful frills on their backs are their gills. These shell-less members of the snail family eat sponges, hydroids, and ascidians that are poisonous to other creatures, incorporating their toxins. Like many other animals, nudis advertise their toxicity with bright colourations.

Your final few moments here can be spent poking around the shallows by the wall near the boat where lionfish, banded pipefish and the eponymous nudibranchs bring your finger pointing tally up to an impressive number, such is the amount of interesting specimens at Nudi Falls. One of the favourite dive spots in Lembeh.

Nudi Falls Reef Basics: Mini wall
Depth: 5 - 25m
Visibility: 10 - 20m
Currents: Gentle
Surface Conditions: Calm
Water Temperature: 26 - 29°C
Experience Level: Beginner - advanced
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving Season: All year round
Distance: ~1 km south of Lembeh resorts (5 mins)
Access: Lembeh and Manado resorts and liveaboards

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