THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok - page 287

DIVING AND SNORKELLING ALONG THE AMED COAST
Banyuning has the area's best snorkelling , at the Japanese Wreck , which lies in shallow
water (6-12m) just 20m offshore; the small freighter is overgrown with soft corals and is
frequented by pygmy seahorses, leaf scorpionfish and a number of nudibranchs. If you're
staying elsewhere you can charter a boat to the wreck: from Jemeluk it's a forty-minute
ride and costs Rp200,000 per two-person boat for the whole excursion. There's rewarding
reef in Jemeluk too, especially in the exceptionally clear water around the headland beside
Villa Coral , and also in a long stretch in front of Amed Café and Ganesh Amed . Snorkel
sets can be rented everywhere.
DIVING
Amed's reefs are popular with divers from all over Bali and by late morning can be very
crowded with day-trippers. Local dive operators tend to set off early in the day to get a
head start on incomers, which is one of several good reasons to base yourself here.
The main diving area is at Jemeluk , where a massive sloping terrace of hard and soft coral
leads to a wall dropping to a depth of more than 40m. Gorgonian fans, basket sponges and
table coral are especially good, there's plenty of fish (including schools of red-tooth trigger
fish and sergeant majors), plus sharks, wrasses and parrotfish. Advanced divers rate Gili
Selang , an islet off Bali's eastern tip, about 5km south of Aas, with its pristine reef, pela-
gics and exciting currents. There's the Japanese Wreck at Banyuning (see Lipah to Aas )
and a dramatic drift dive at Bunutan , with schools of barracuda and giant barrel sponges.
Tulamben is a thirty-minute drive away and most dive centres offer safaris to sites further
afield.
There are countless dive centres in the Amed area. All the established places will collect
you from your accommodation. Prices average $70-75 for two dives around Amed or Tu-
lamben and $85 at Gili Selang.
Adventure Divers 081 353136113, adventurediversbali.com . Geria Giri Shanti hotel
in Congkang.
Eco-Dive 0363 23482, ecodivebali.com . Jemeluk
Jukung Dive 0363 23469, jukungdivebali.com . Congkang.
Bali Reef Divers 0363 23523, diveamed.com . Puri Wirata hotel, Bunutan.
Euro Dive 0363 23605, eurodivebali.com . Lipah.
The coast road from Aas to Ujung
One of the highlights of the Amed area is the coast road that connects AAS , the southern-
most village of the Amed strip, with UJUNG , 25km to the southwest. It's a gloriously scenic