Menjangan Island / Deer Island

Bali have many beautiful spot, it is just usual tourism spots such as Kuta Beach, Legian, Nusa Dua, Sanur, and Ubud that is already crowd by tourist. Bali has many beautiful tourism spots that are still quiet. An island at far northwestern Bali island that is called Menjangan Island. Menjangan means deer. The island is in protected position, currents and wind-generate waves are rarely a bother, and reefs here offer fine diving, particularly for beginning and intermediate divers. Surrounded by hectares of exellent coral reef. The island is a favorite destination for both snorkelers and divers. The water is very clear likes crystal; you can looks down the base of the sea. The island is part of Bali Barat National Park, a protected reserve area that encompasses much of Bali’s little populated western end. Driving from resort area to the south at least takes three hours.

It was in 1978 that Menjangan became Bali's first internationally known dive location. Consequently, in older dive guidebooks, Menjangan is described as having beautiful reef flats. Unfortunately that is no longer true. Over the years a combination of dynamite fishing and (dive!) boats anchoring into the coral have taken their toll. Then, in 1997 there was a population explosion of the coral-eating Crown of Thorns starfish and, in 1998, coral bleaching as a result of El Nino.

The coral walls around Menjangan are vertical down to 30 – 60 meters, and then slope outward. The reef surface is particularly rugged: caves, grottoes, crevasse and funnel-like splits break up the coral wall, and the surface is textured with little nooks and crannies. Gorgonians of many kinds reach large size here, and huge barrel sponges are abundant. Soft corals blanket the colorful walls all the way down.

There are found many variety of fish and very colorful. Apart from a high diversity of coral species and colorful, tropical fish there are many kinds of sea- and shorebirds frequenting the island. Also theHawkesbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is sighted frequently in the area. Menjangan is often referred to as Deer Island as it is the habitat of the Barking Deer or Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak). Visitors can regularly spot these deer at the secluded, sandy beaches of the island. The white sandy beaches of Menjangan s make a location pleasant to break itself for the lunch. Subaqueous, the slope throughout the border of the south and extremity of the east, doing in front of the sea of Bali, homemade being to the portions of fish and the colorful small vertebrates, the ventilators of embroider of the sea and a variety of sponges.

This place has 4 great dive sites:

1.       The Anker Wreck

2.       Garden Eel Point

3.       Pos II

4.       Pemuteran