reef

Log This Dive

Gili anyaran -Sunken Island

Gili Anyaran, often called the Sunken Island, is one of those places we love for its sheer quirkiness. It's not a wreck in the traditional sense, more like a drowned landmass between Gili Gede and Gili Layar that just barely breaks the surface at low tide. We’ve found the max depth around 20m, but it’s the character of the place that makes it special. What you’ll find is a landscape of large, broken coral structures and seagrass beds, particularly thalassia and cymodocea, that have become home to some seriously cool stuff. We’ve seen a good number of turtles here, often munching on the seagrass. Keep an eye out for lionfish and scorpionfish tucked into the crevices, and the nudibranchs here are surprisingly diverse; we’ve spotted some real beauties. The currents can pick up a bit, so it's a drift sometimes, but the 16m average visibility usually gives you plenty of time to take it all in. It’s a site for divers who appreciate the subtle beauty of a natural reef taking back something from the land, not for those chasing big pelagics, though we have seen the occasional barracuda cruising by.