Batu Kelebit (Tulamben)

Batu Kelebit is a boat dive off the lava coast of Tulamben in north-east Bali. Blue Season Bali, a Tulamben operator, says the site is named after two huge rocks that lie just offshore and is reached by a 10 to 15 minute ride in a local boat or jukung, a short distance around from the Drop Off. Amed Dive Center, an operator based in neighbouring Amed, describes it as a rock off the lava coast not far from the Emerald Hotel and reaches it by its own boat, about an hour from Amed or combined with a dive at Kubu or Alam Batu.

What divers report

Blue Season describes reef that leads into deeper water over dramatic, steep ridges, with rocks and reefs covered in healthy corals and sponges and an abundance of tropical fish. It says an upwelling of plankton-rich cooler water makes the site a good place for larger pelagic fish and tells divers to look out for barracuda, large tuna, sharks, rays and even mola mola. Amed Dive Center describes drifting with the current past soft corals, sea fans, coral bushes and sponges, says there is a good chance of reef sharks and bumphead parrotfish, and adds that the marine life gets better the deeper you go. The bali.com directory lists soft and hard corals, gorgonians, reef sharks, barracuda, cuttlefish, emperor shrimps, peacock mantis shrimps, bumphead parrotfish, jacks, snappers and moray eels. These are operator and directory reports, not survey records, and sightings are never guaranteed.

Depth and conditions

The maximum depth is recorded as disputed. Blue Season's text says the ridges eventually lead to a white sandy bottom at around 50 metres, while the depth column of its own site card states 5 to 20 metres and bali.com lists 10 to 30 metres; the shorter ranges may describe typical routes rather than the terrain. Amed Dive Center says only that depths of 40 metres and more are for experienced divers. No maximum depth is published until the sources agree, so plan the dive with your guide.

Current is also recorded as disputed. Blue Season's card lists a strong current, Amed Dive Center runs the site as a drift dive and Bali Fun Diving says Batu Kelebit may have stronger currents than other Tulamben sites, but bali.com states that there is no current. Blue Season's card rates the site for skilled divers; that rating is not converted into a difficulty level here. Water temperature, visibility, best season and required certification are recorded as unknown because no retained source states them for this site alone. No hash-bound coordinate source was captured, so the site is published without a map position.