Pemuteran Bali's hidden gem
Located in northwest Bali, Pemuteran is a small fishing village not known for being a tourist destination but it has developed a reputation for offering sensational diving and a more relaxed tropical escape away from the usual tourist spots.
Most people who come to Bali never make it to Pemuteran.
It’s a five hour drive from Denpasar, on the dry, rugged northern coast where the rainforest thins and the volcanic ridges meet the sea. The bay is calm and shallow at the edges, deep at the centre, and protected on either side by headlands that catch the sunset.
The reef was almost gone.
In the late 1990s the bay was decimated. Cyanide fishing, dynamite blasts, and the global coral bleaching event of 1998 wiped out almost everything. By the early 2000s the reef was effectively dead.
Then local fishermen, dive guides, and community leaders decided to fix it.
Together with international scientists, they founded the Karang Lestari Foundation and launched what became the world's largest coral reef restoration project. Steel structures wired with a low-voltage electric current using Biorock technology were lowered into the bay, accelerating coral growth and resilience. The bay is alive again.
The goal for dive centres in the area is the Gold Green Fins certification, the highest tier under the only internationally recognised environmental standards for the diving industry. Assessors join actual dives, observe operations above and below water, and operators must re-earn it every year. It is genuinely hard to get.
You'll dive the Biorock structures and hear from the people behind it all. We've built it into the trip.
It’s not just the diving (though the diving is world-class). It’s the village. It’s the people.
Diving in Pemuteran
Pemuteran
Pemuteran bay offers hours of watching turtles grazing on seagrass, red snapper patrolling the wall, eels hiding in the artifical reef and clownfish defending their colonies. Suitable for all levels of diving and a variety of photography options including the macro haven known as Deep Reef, you could even jump in for a night dive.
Menjangan
Menjangan island is named after the Indonesian for 'deer', as deer regularly swim to its shores from Bali. It has been a part of the West Bali National Park since 1941, so it's no wonder it boasts such beautiful coral reefs teeming with life. The island offers easy, accessible dives and is celebrated for its breath-taking vertical walls that start near the surface and plunge from 30 to 60 meters deep.
Only 10km from Pemuteran with easy diving, minimal currents, great coral diversity and an abundance of marine life and a perfect location for wide angle photography.
What else to do in Pemuteran
Besides diving there are plenty of things to keep you occupied,
Turtle Hatchery - Everyone loves baby turtles, and if you're lucky enough to be there at the right time you might even get the chance to release baby turtles
Dolphin watching tour - Spend time with local dolphins and their families chasing a feed of tuna in their natural habitat.
Aling-Aling waterfalls - You could spend time swimming in the waterfalls and if you are adventurous enough jumping from the 5, 10 or even 15m high ledges.
Beach cleanup - Divers love looking after the environment, you might even get the chance to help out here.
The food - Eating fresh locally caught food is one of the best things about travelling and Pemuteran being a fishing village first and tourist location second will have some of the best and freshest seafood for those of you who think fish can be friends and food!