THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok - page 294

DIVING AT TULAMBEN
Tulamben's underwater treasure trove, the Liberty wreck , lies on a sandy slope just 30m
offshore, making this one of the most accessible wrecks in Southeast Asia and a gift for
novice divers. There are plenty of entrances and some sections are in shallow water, mak-
ing it a good snorkelling site, too. The wreck is encrusted with soft coral, gorgonians and
hydrozoans plus a few hard corals, providing a wonderful habitat for around three hundred
species of resident reef fish and another hundred species that visit from deeper water. Night
dives are especially good. Built in 1915 in the US as a steamship, the 120m-long Liberty
was carrying a cargo of rubber and rail parts when it was torpedoed on January 11, 1942,
15km southwest of Lombok. Attempts to tow the ship to port at Singaraja failed and it was
beached at Tulamben, where it lay until 1963, when earth tremors accompanying the erup-
tion of Gunung Agung shifted the Liberty into the water once more.
Although most people come to Tulamben for the wreck, there are plenty of other sites
to explore - enough to fill a week or more. Many divers rate the Tulamben Drop-off ,
aka “The Wall”, off the eastern end of the beach, at least as highly as the wreck itself. It
comprises several fingers of volcanic rock that drop to 60m and are home to an enormous
variety of fish, including unusual species such as comets, as well as black coral bushes.
At Batu Kelebit , two huge boulders with coral-covered ridges are frequented by sharks,
barracuda, jacks, manta rays and tuna. Palung Palung is suitable for beginners as well as
experienced divers and has hard and soft coral and an enticing variety of marine life from
depths of 3m to 40m. Tulamben Coral Garden and Shark Point are self-descriptive, with
black-tip reef sharks the draw at the latter. The locally famous muck dive at Secret Seraya
is good for boxer crab, harlequin shrimp, ghost pipe fish and tiger shrimp.
DIVE CENTRES
Dive centres in the area charge from $70 for two local dives and offer dive-and-accom-
modation packages as well as trips further afield, to Amed, Pemuteran and Nusa Penida.
The centres below are among the most established dive outfits.
Tauch Terminal 0361 774504, tulamben.com .
Tulamben Wreck Divers 0363 23400, tulambenwreckdivers.com .
Werner Lau Siddhartha resort 0363 23034, wernerlau.com . A pricier centre.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION: TULAMBEN
By shuttle bus There are Perama shuttle buses from Candidasa (Rp125,000, minimum two
people).
Destinations Candidasa (2 daily; 2hr).