Batu Niti – Bali Dive Site Spotlight

November 18th, 2019 • uwt

Batu Niti – Bali Dive Site Spotlight

Batu Niti Eel

Diving in Bali is a many faceted attraction, many readers are probably asking “Where is Batu Niti?”  This site is another hidden gem for divers on the island of Bali. There are literally dozens of great dive sites in Bali, however, world famous sites such as Crystal Bay, Manta Point, and the USAT Liberty Wreck tend to hog the headlines. Of course these sites have many redeeming qualities and world class encounters. With the spotlight thrown on these sites so often, other sites on the island fly under the radar.  Here on the blog we occassionally highlight one of the other great sites in Bali to show what great sites are also out there.

For critter lovers, the Tulamben and Seraya areas are very popular destinations. Many newer divers head to Tulamben to dive the Liberty Wreck or Drop Off and don’t get to experience some of the great sites a few minutes south.  Underwater photographers, on the other hand, flock to these lesser known sites in order to find the cool residents which make critter diving so rewarding.  One of the best sites in the Seraya area is Batu Niti.

Where is Batu Niti?

Batu Niti

Batu Niti itself is located around 500m – 1km south east of the more well known Seraya Secrets site.  The site is accessible either by boat or vehicle, and is an easy shore entry.  Unlike the almost pure black sand slopes of Seraya, Batu Niti is more of a rocky slope.  The rocky slope is covered in very fine sand which means divers must be careful of their fins.  The site typically doesn’t have strong currents but a mild current is not uncommon.  The site itself starts from rocky shallows leading to a gentle slope that continues down past 30 metres.  Although the find sand and rocks are the most distinguishing feature, the site is also home to a lot of small corals, wire corals, and hydroids. There are also several different entry and exit points meaning that it’s easy to do more than one dive at this location.

What to Expect at Batu Niti?

As mentioned, this is a critter site so there are no big stands of coral. A keen eyed guide is most definitely a requirement here to find the weird and wonderful inhabitants.  The list of creatures found here is long and exotic!  Some of the top encounters are: boxer crabs, frogfish, ghost pipefish, nudibranchs, long arm octopus, and even wonderpus.  There are several lively cleaning stations throughout the site which are jam packed with wrasse and shrimp providing cleaning services.  Eels, groupers, angelfish and more are frequent visitors to the cleaning stations.  This is only the starting point for the critter list, we have found so many different animals here its one of our favourite locations in Bali.

Fogfish DOF

Brothers Bali Diving Safari

Bali Photos Leaf Fish

When to Dive

Due to the light silt on the bottom, the conditions can be stirred up during heavy seas or big rain. Therefore, we recommend that the best time of year to dive here is the dry season.  Our team of guides is always aware of the conditions at the sites in Bali and will choose sites accordingly.  If the conditions have been stormy we usually give this site a miss for a few weeks until it’s back to normal.

Like many of the sites in the area, there is an enterprising family who have built rinse tanks and a rest area on the beach. This is super convenient for people to rest between dives in the shade.  The caretakers will also help move dive gear up and down the beach for easy access to the entry points.

Interested in learning about other dives in the area? Please check out our spotlight on the site Melasti, a 5 minute drive from Batu Niti.

 

 



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