Looking Underneath

Sanur is the coastal stretch of Denpasar city in south east Bali. It is one of the island’s earliest resort areas which now offers a pleasant seaside atmosphere with a calm and relaxed vibe. The sea around Sanur is protected by a coral reef offering calm waters, making the 5 km beach suitable for the whole family. Although there are other more famous dive sites in Bali, Sanur is still a popular diving destination and some of the most experienced dive operators carry out their business from Sanur.

The main attraction of Sanur beach other than the white sand is its constantly calm water and an underwater world of interesting landscapes, colourful corals and reef fish about 300 meters off shore. All this and more make it a snorkelling and diving destination very much in demand.

The three well known diving and snorkelling sites of Channel or Dog Point, Penjor Reef and Jeladi Willis are found here. Although set close together each site has its own different characteristics. What is common to all of them is an abundance of marine life, easy accessibility and sites suitable for both novice and experienced divers.

Jeladi Willis, a ten minute boat ride away, offers a gentle dive beginning at around 3 meters and dropping 20 meters to a flat sandy bottom. As the current is known to be rather strong, diving during low tide is the best option here. Visibility is around 5 to 15 meters adequate to offer views of large coral formations, nudibranchs, stingrays, nurse sharks, scorpion fish, octopus and more. This is also a favourite spot for night dives.

Channel or Dog Point, situated to the east of Sanur is a very popular diving and snorkelling site particularly because of easy access, just five minutes by boat. Located in a coral edged channel, the site slopes gently until it opens out into a large sandy area on the seabed at 20 meters. All the dive schools in town take their trainees for training dives and refresher dives here. The sites attraction include views of myriad marine life including sweetlips, spotted clown fish, star fish, trigger fish, blue spotted sting ray among others.

Penjor Reef is one of the best diving snorkelling sites close to shore. Its variety of corals and marine life is amazing and is recognized as one of the best dive sites in Bali.

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Jayani Senanayake is a writer who dabbles in travel and all things exotic. Under the pseudonym of Caliope Sage, she writes of the allures that must simply be discovered. Google+