8 Amazing Underwater Sculptures and Gardens in Bali

BASK Nest is an underwater sculpture park right off the shore of Gili Meno. Designed by Jason deCaires Taylor, it comprises a circle of 48 life-sized figures encircling several more on the seabed. Some of his sculptures can be found in various dive sites around the world, including the Caribbean and the Canary Islands.

BASK Nest offers an eerie yet beautiful place to dive in Indonesia, thanks to the statues’ detailed expressions. You may encounter turtles, moray eels, octopus, white tip and blacktip reef sharks during your visit.

The Jemeluk Bay underwater gallery displays “living sea” sculptures by Indonesian artists like Wayan Winten and Eddi Prabandono. It’s located in Amed, a dive site renowned for its calm waters and amazing biodiversity that thrives along its coral walls.

Some of the most prominent sculptures include a giant baby head, beautiful apsara (Hindu water nymphs), mermaids, treasure chests, and a barong (the Balinese king of the spirits). A longstanding underwater feature at the Jemeluk Bay underwater gallery is its working mailbox. You can purchase waterproof postcards from local shops, then dive to this box and post it in.

The Bio-Rock Reef Project by Karang Lestari Foundation is one of the world’s most successful reef restoration efforts. These artificial reefs are off the shores of Pemuteran Bay in Bali’s northwest, which is home to shallow coral reefs spanning 20,000 sq m. This marine protected area has over a dozen coral nurseries on sunken metal structures, which are fed with low electrical currents that help stimulate coral growth.

Some of the sculptures you can see during your dive include giant domes, blossoming lotuses, bicycles, and statues of Buddha and Hindu deities. For a small donation, you can sponsor a baby coral by having a small coral fragment planted next to your name (made using iron wire) within the site.

The Boga shipwreck is located off the coast of Tulamben in East Bali, at a depth of 30 metres. This WWII cargo ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine back in 1942. The 85-metre-long wreck is covered with algae and coral, attracting a variety of fish like sunfish, great barracuda, peacock grouper, coral trout, and angelfish.

The Boga shipwreck has an intact steering wheel that’s a favourite photo-op among freedivers, along with a sunken Volkswagen 181. The best time for diving is between October and November when the weather in Bali is relatively calm.

Suci Place is a beautiful diving spot right off the shores of Matahari Tulamben Resort. The site dates back to 2013 when the resort wanted to have its own house reef for divers in Tulamben. Matahari Tulamben Resort also has a dive centre that organises diving trips to Suci Place.

With a depth of around 9 to 17 metres, this sunken garden has Buddha images, temples and stupas, as well as Hindu gods and goddesses. Tropical fish, moray eels, ocean sunfish, and eagle rays have been sighted in the waters.