Bunaken National Marine Park is an incredible sanctuary for a diverse range of marine life. Stretching over 75,000 hectares in the Sulawesi Sea, the park includes five islands, including the extinct volcano, Manado Tua. Here, you will discover healthy, beautiful hard coral and abundant soft coral and other invertebrates, plus an astonishing variety of fish, sharks and rays, and marine mammals.
While there are many diving sites to enjoy throughout Bunaken National Marine Park, some deserve special mention. Let’s take a look at some of Bunaken’s most exciting dives!
Diving Conditions
Much of the diving at Bunaken is drift diving, however there are wonderful shallow reefs for both new and experienced divers to enjoy, as well as deeper reefs that extend far below safe recreational diving depths, there is something for everyone. It is completely possible to go no deeper than 25 or 30 meters and still enjoy unforgettable dives!
The water temperature here hovers between 26 and 29 degrees Celsius year-round. Hot weather arrives in June and stays until September, while the rainy season begins in November and normally continues until March and often through at least the beginning of April. The sun here is intense, so be prepared!
Last, but certainly not least, bring your camera, because visibility at Bunaken National Marine Park is absolutely outstanding! In most places, the average is thirty meters or more. This offers excellent wide angle opportunities as well as macro photo opps.
Bunaken’s Top Dive Sites
Lekuan1, 2, and 3
Although Lekuan 1, 2, and 3 are located at the same site, there is too much here to explore on a single dive, which is why this three-pronged coral wall has been separated into three sections. Here, divers have the opportunity to see turtles, as well as big bumphead parrotfish and other large reef fish. The walls are teeming with life, including enormous sponges and massive sea fans.
Lekuan 1 – This dive begins over a sandy slope that extends to the wall. Watch for sharks and turtles, as well as schooling pyramid butterfly fish, and keep an eye out for baby reef sharks hiding in sandy-bottomed crevices. Schooling napoleons and trevally swim by the wall, where lionfish and scorpionfish practice their stealthy patience.
Lekuan 2 – The wall here is punctuated with small caves bursting with a rainbow of soft corals. Purple darts and delicate sailfin gobies add exotic elegance, and deep overhangs invite napoleons and green turtles to nibble beneath them. Don’t be surprised if you feel tempted simply examine a small section of this incredible wall!
Lekuan 3 – This dive features a wall which drops to more than two hundred meters below the water’s surface. You make your way to the wall over a sandy field dotted with pinnacles, and as you peer off into the blue from your own comfortable depth, you will encounter large barracudas and big jacks, as well as plenty of more colorful reef fish. The wall itself is coated with massive sponges and huge gorgonians, as well as a variety of nudibranchs.
Bunaken Timur 1 and 2
This incredible fringing reef has so much to offer, that it can be difficult to decide where to look first. With a maximum depth of thirty-five meters, the ocean floor here invites exploration, thanks to a variety of sponges that beg for close examination. The coral is vibrantly colorful, as are the astonishing array of reef fish. Watch for larger visitors like sharks and dolphins, turtles, and even orcas!
The current can be strong here, so this site, while not too deep, is reserved for intermediate divers and above.
Siladen 1&2
This island is surrounded by sugar-white sand, above and below the water. The two main dive sites here are quite different from one another, with Siladen 1 being a vertical wall that descends in massive steps and features a lovely reef covered in both hard and soft coral, as well as a multitude of feather stars in different shapes and sizes. Here, there is a current which attracts white tip reef sharks. Watch for rays, too! Less experienced divers will enjoy snorkeling on the reef top, as there is plenty to see.
At Siladen 2, divers often see large pelagics including groups of bumphead parrot fish and napoleons, as well as some larger reef sharks. The site begins on a sandy slope dotted with big table corals, bunches of soft coral, and big boulders where fish hide from the considerable current. Look for lionfish and scorpionfish, and keep an eye on the blue – you never know what might appear! This site is reserved for advanced divers only, due to the current.
Popo Betlehem
This muck dive is absolutely incredible, and that’s how it earned its name, which is translated to “Better than Lembeh”! Visibility here is just as good as it is around the rest of Bunaken’s dive sites, and the black sandy slope is the perfect backdrop for all the colorful life you’ll find, both day and night. The site is home to an oyster farm that attracts some interesting creatures. For instance, the ropes that hold the floating oyster platforms in place are perfect attachment points for the eggs of the long-finned squid, and the concrete bags make great hiding places for all kinds of shrimp and other little critters. Sea grass offers eels, sea snakes, seahorses and frogfish an excellent place to stay out of harm’s way, and pipefish as well as nudibranchs are here in abundance.
Fukui Point
Don’t be surprised if the butterfly fish here start to nibble at you! These amicable little cleaners share the site with a resident napoleon wrasse, five massive clams lined up in a row, and a multitude of pygmy seahorses, nudis, and other little creatures. This site offers and easy dive to just fifteen meters and has a sandy bottom that slopes gently. Here and there, you’ll see fish congregated around bouquets of hard and soft coral. Watch for sharks, rays, and turtles!
No matter which of these dives you decide to explore first, you will be astonished by everything you find below the water’s surface. Join the ranks of photographers and biologists who visit here from all around the world, and you’ll soon understand why Bunaken National Park is such a popular place to visit!