Tulamben

Tulamben is a village, of which the name was taken from the word „Batulambih“. Batulambih means many stones caused by the explotion of Mount Agung. By the time, this word changed into Batulamben and eventually pronounced as Tulamben. This area then flourished into a tourist destination that worth to visit.

There are some facilities available to support the industry, such as small hotels, restaurants, and even food stalls. For visitors who longs to see the underwater life of this area, diving operators are available here.

Tulamben village grows into tourist area for its strategic position and because of the beauty of its surroundings. From here, we will be able to witness the fascinating view of Mount Agung on the west side. Besides, it also offers a magnificent panorama of marine life.

Diving

Tulamben has become Bali's most famous diving area. Tulamben Bay, like the rest of Bali, is situated in the richest marine biogeographic zone in the world. Being on the northeast coast, the bay receives plankton rich waters from the major ocean currents that move from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. This, coupled with the fact that the three main dive sites provide totally different physical environments, means that Tulamben contains a stunningly diverse underwater ecosystem.

The black sand of Tulamban does not provide the reflective properties of white limestone sand and, combined with the amount of plankton in the water, accounts for the relatively low visibility. It does however provide a dramatic contrast, which brings out the colours of the corals, gorgonians, fish and other marinelife.

USAT Liberty

The U.S.A.T. LIBERTY, a 130 meter long shipwreck, is the remains of a US World War II freighter, torpedoed on January 11,1942 at 4:15 a.m. by a Japanese submarine while crossing the Lombok Strait carrying material (rubber and railway parts) from Australia to the Philippines. Two US destroyers hitched up to the ship and tried to tow it to the port of Singaraja. The damage was immense, she was taking too much water and her crew ran the vessel up onto the beach of Tulamben 70km away from the nearest safe harbor.

For 21 years she stayed there, the people of Tulamben secured all items of any value, even parts of the deck. In 1963 the Liberty was pushed to her present location by the fatal eruption of the volcano Gunung Agung. During this process the hull broke into two pieces. Now she is laying only 30 meter from the Tulamben beach on a sandy slope 90° on her side parallel to the shore. The deck side faces the ocean.

The Liberty ship wreck is the most visited diving site of Bali at a perfect depth for scuba diving ranging from 3 meters down to 30 meters. There are a couple of impressive swim throughs, but one must be cautious because the structure of the wreck is unstable, every year parts collapse. An amazing growth of encrusting animals cover the wreck, marine biologists estimate that about 400 different species of reef fish live on the Liberty. It is not usual for this site to be visited by big pelagic species.