Dive in Gorontalo
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Coastal Atoll Gorontalo, Indonesia
This atoll is located along the coastline. Waters inside the atoll ring rarely circulate. The jellyfish that live inside have fully functional stings! The atoll ring is usually too shallow for diving or snorkeling. Since the atoll faces into the heavy waves, its upper surface very rocky. A number of… -
Sand Channels Gorontalo, Indonesia
Narrow channels are cut in the reef crest above and filled with white sand. The sand spills down the wall. This dive site is one of the few in Gorontalo where divers can clearly see the bottom. It is is a slope of white sand mixed with coral. The coral wall begins at the surface and drops to about… -
West Point Gorontalo, Indonesia
The reef flat of this large point is only a few meters deep. The portions of it that face into heavy waves are mostly rocky with minimal coral growth. Below the reef rim a slope of hard corals ends in a rocky flat at about 40 meters. The slope has various arms that shoot down from the reef flat. -
Sponge Wall Gorontalo, Indonesia
This dive site is another classic Gorontalo dive site that looks like no other. The first section of the wall is mostly overhang with shallow caverns decorated with masses of hanging rope sponge. The bottom slants deceptively downwards. Numerous large sand gobies live on the silt bottom. The rest of… -
White Point Gorontalo, Indonesia
One of Gorontalo’s most visited sites, this submerged point attracts school of fish and pelagics. The point itself is below 30 meters and covered with white sand with only scattered hard corals. Because the visibility off this deep point is typically quite good, schools of large snappers can be… -
Mystic Point Gorontalo, Indonesia
A tall limestone cliff protects this site from heavy waves, so generations of fishermen have used this site to anchor their boats. This result is that the coral at shallow depths is not in great shape. But the white sand slope that descends from the upper coral bank is dotted with fascinating coral… -
Tambo'o Fish House Gorontalo, Indonesia
Gorontalo’s most popular muck site is located just outside the mouth of the River. Visibility is affected by river water pulled or pushed by long shore currents. Sand here is mostly brown. A shallow sand flat starts at about three meters before a slope of sand begins. One big coral rock sits at a… -
Tjenderawashi Barge Wreck Gorontalo, Indonesia
The dredging barge Tjenderawashi was tethered for an escavation job. However, rains and massive night waves on 26 December 1993 sunk the barge. Workers tried to re-float it using thousands of barrels, to no avail. It currently rests along a steep slope, lodged firmly on four rocky outcroppings. It… -
Japanese Cargo Wreck Gorontalo, Indonesia
A Japanese cargo vessel sunk in 1942 after catching fire. It now rests upside down just off the wall in 50 meters of water. Its propeller is within 26 meters of the ocean surface. Two-thirds of the hull leans on a rocky outcrop, falling at a 14-degree angle, until the hull buckles horizontally with… -
Old Port Gorontalo, Indonesia
No doubt the messiest dive site in Gorontalo, this location served as a port in the days before Indonesian independence. The steep sand and muck slope is strewn with trash from the village above. This reating many places for marine life to hide. A steep sand dune rises above the valley of trash.… -
Mirabella Gorontalo, Indonesia
Pinnacles rise along a steep slope of white sand and coral. The dive begins at a series of three large pinnacles that descend in a row. Various other pinnacles and promontories make for a continually changing landscape. Because this dive site is protected from heavy waves, table corals grow to over… -
Swirling Steps Gorontalo, Indonesia
The formation of this submerged point is a series of steps. The first step is a shallow reef only a few meters deep. The final one in safe diving rage is at 25 meters and is very wide and long and stretches far out into deep water. The edge of this step is at 40 meters. Hard corals dominate this… -
Sunken Island Gorontalo, Indonesia
This sea mount rises from a sandy bottom. Its edge closest to shore is as shallow as 15 meters, but the side facing the open ocean probably plunges below 40 meters. Its large flat top is at seven meters, which makes a perfect place to hover during safety stop time. The pinnacle is best above 16… -
Shadowlands Gorontalo, Indonesia
This unique site rounds a cliff that faces the deep ocean. The shallow flat is at a depth of three to five meters. The wall starts only a few meters from the cliff overhead. Because of the angle at which the cliff pushes into the sea and the closeness of the mountain above it, the wall rarely… -
Honeycomb Gorontalo, Indonesia
This dive site follows a submerged point that juts into the long shore current. The dramatic wall is covered in dense coral growth with a heavy sprinkling of large sponges. This includes Salvador Dali sponges found only in Gorontalo. This site features two collapsed caverns and a tunnel piercing one… -
Traffic Circle Gorontalo, Indonesia
Located within Olele Village Marine Park, this is clearly the fishiest dive in Gorontalo. Hard coral coverage is over 80%. The site contains two ridges of coral that protrude into the long shore current. Schools of fish will gather at one or both of these locations, depending on how much plankton is… -
Traffic Jam Gorontalo, Indonesia
The coral along this spectacular wall is so dense that there is no room for additional parking. Several points jut into the long shore current. When the current is running, schools of fish gather along these point, creating a Gorontalo-style traffic jam. -
Jinn Caves Gorontalo, Indonesia
A gigantic cavern split at the top makes this a signature Gorontalo dive site. Inside the main cavern, there are numerous small caverns. Below 20 meters are two pinnacles. -
Fallen Rock Gorontalo, Indonesia
One of Gorontalo's dramatic wall dives, this site features gigantic sponges. Numerous cracks in the wall, some vertical and some diagonal, add to the beauty. The reef flat is only a few meters wide. Several gigantic boulders have fallen off the cliff and now rest of the reef flat. -
Helicopter Bay Gorontalo, Indonesia
This dive site gets its name from a rock formation on the cliff above that resembles a helicopter. An inlet penetrates about 65 meters into the wall. The inside walls feature a shallow cavern or two and beautiful Salvador Dali sponges, found only in Gorontalo. There is a unique double tunnel not yet…
- Quick facts about the Gorontalo
- Visibility: 10-80 metres
- Recommended Equipment: Normal Diving Equipment
- Prices: Varied
- Seasons: All Year but April-December are the best months
- Water Temperature: 19°C - 30°C
- Highlights: Muck diving, wrecks, photography, drift diving, macro life, sharks, turtles and manta rays
- Currents: Sometimes very strong
- Average Depth: 5-40 metres
