HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tulamben is a small fishing village on the north-east coast of
Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and ...
. It is among the most popular
dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...
sites on Bali since the wreck of the , a US Army Transport ship torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942 lies just off shore. During high-season, up to 100 divers descend to the wreck each day.


History

The town's name is derived from the word ''batulambih'', which roughly translates as "many stones", a reference to the destructive eruptions by Mount Agung that have affected this part of Bali from time to time. The beach in Tulamben is not made of sand, but is entirely covered with fairly large, smooth stones. The modern name evolved over time, first to "Batulamben" and finally settling on the contraction Tulamben ("batu" means "stone" in Indonesian).


The wreck

The wreck lies in shallow water and is considered appropriate for divers of all certification levels. The ship rests in 30 metres of water, is roughly 25 metres from shore and can be reached with a short swim from the beach. The highest point of the wreck tops out about 5 metres from the surface. The ship was torpedoed by the Japanese off the nearby Island of Lombok and the ship was towed to the beach at Tulamben for salvage operations. The 1963 eruption of Mt. Agung, which devastated much of the eastern side of Bali, drove the ship into the water just off shore, where it became encrusted with coral and a home to other sea life. The best conditions for diving here are during October and November, when the weather is generally calm and during the start of southeast monsoon, which typically extends from May to July. In addition to a wide variety of corals and invertebrates on the wreck itself, large fish frequent the wreck in some seasons, most popularly '' Mola mola'' and
whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter feeder, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known Extant taxon, extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Bran ...
s, as well as Black-tip reef sharks. Professional divers have praised local residents for minimizing local fishing activity. Diving Bali, pg. 78-79
By David Pickerell and Wally Siagian, Tuttle Publishing 1999


References


External links

{{coord, 8, 017, 03, S, 115, 035, 021, E, source:nlwiki_region:ID_scale:50000, display=title Wreck diving sites Populated places in Bali