Snorkelling and Diving in Menjangan Island, Bali
Image source: petervD1064NF from tripadvisor.com
If you’re a snorkeler or a diver who loves to travel around the sea, then you must be familiar with Menjangan Island. It is a snorkelling paradise for novices to expert snorkelers. Not only that, Menjangan Island also offers a lot of beauty like the quiet sea along with its turquoise clear water, the magnificent corals and numerous tropical fish under the water making it one of the most popular attractions among the Bali tourists.
Menjangan Island is located in the northwestern part of Bali, with an area of 125 ha, this island is still part of the West Bali National Park of Buleleng Regency and it’s accessible from Bali and Banyuwangi.
What’s on Menjangan Island
Best Diving Spots
Image source: https://www.westbali.net
This island has the largest density of gorgonians in Bali, with many of them housing tiny pygmy seahorses. With shallow coral gardens that slope down abruptly beyond recreational restrictions, Menjangan is one of Bali's top wall diving spots. Despite the deep walls, there aren't many huge pelagics to be found here, although tuna and jackfish are plentiful.
You can dive into the numerous beautiful walls dive here, starting from the famous ‘eel garden’ where you can see around 1000 garden eels poking up to you. There's also an anchor wreck or Kapal Budak wall dive where you can see shipwrecks that have sunk since the 19th century during WWII, next is POS II wall dive, Sandy Slope, Bat Cave and Temple Wall. All those wall dive is great and offers you with their own authentic scene.
Variety of Fauna
Image source: https://www.westbali.net
Not merely rich in underwater beauty, Menjangan island is also fauna rich. Let’s take a closer look at the name first, in Javanese term “Menjangan” means deer. That’s because the island is inhabited by numerous wild deer. Along with the wild deer, the island is also home to a variety of wild bunnies, wild chickens, and monitor lizards which you can observe and take photos of.
Panoramic and Holy Temples
Image source: KobomvelikbomJanko from tripadvisor.com
Since Menjangan island is apart from the hustle and bustle of human life. Balinese Hindus consider the island sacred and a fine place of worship. There are some pura here, and the Hindus usually start their pilgrims from the nearest, pura Jetty to Ganesha Temple.
For any of you who want to visit the pura, you must dress in traditional wear, which may be rented there. The popular site you can visit are Kwan-In Pagoda and Segara Giri Kencana temple. You can see the intriguing combination of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs in Kwan-In Pagoda. While Segara Giri Kencana is a panoramic temple made of white stones, the colour is somehow magnificent when it's combined with the greenish nature surrounding it. Furthermore, you can also enjoy the scenic view from the water when you dive or snorkel there.
Way to go there
From Bali
Menjangan Island is a small island off the coast of Bali separated from the main island. Therefore you have to use a boat to go to Menjangan Island. Most visitors who want to visit Menjangan Island usually travel to Labuan Lalang & Pemuteran's port areas, then take a boat to Menjangan Island. The speed boat available for rent here can transport 10-12 individuals for 400-600 thousand rupiahs for every rental. You'll take a 30-minute boat ride to Menjangan Island from Labuhan Lalang's port.
From Banyuwangi
Menjangan Island can be reached from a variety of locations in Banyuwangi; the prices also vary from 400,000 to 1,400,000 rupiah based on the services provided, some prices have included the snorkelling equipment rental and Menjangan Island entrance tickets.
To get there, you can cross from Watu Dodol beach by renting a local fishing boat, which takes no more than 45 minutes. Or you can rent a boat from the Samudra Bhakti fishing group and cross from Bangsring beach to finally reach the dreamed Menjangan island.
