Why is the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia So Famous?

If you talk to any underwater photographer or marine life aficionado about their favourite diving destinations it won’t take long before they mention the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Lembeh isn’t a regular diving destination – it’s a whole lot more!

Muck Diving

Lembeh is famous for its muck diving which may not sound glamorous but on Lembeh’s volcanic black sand sites you’ll find a treasure trove of some of the world’s rarest and most unusual marine life.

Diving in Lembeh is unlike diving anywhere else

The art of muck diving is very different from other types of diving. It’s about covering a smaller distance and really looking hard to find the good stuff! Compared to reef diving where you can look around you and admire the whole reef scene, muck diving takes a much more focused approach. In Lembeh it’s usually just a matter of minutes into a dive when you hear your dive guide signaling that he’s made his first great find… and then they just keep coming!

Blue rings are just one of many octopus species we regularly spot on dives

Weird Critters

Lembeh’s range of weird critters is unrivaled by anywhere else in the world. Did you know there are 8 different species of frogfish alone in the Strait? Do you love seeing octopus? Great, because we have blue-rings, coconut, starry night, hairy, mimics and wunderpus too. There’s no shortage of cephalopods in Lembeh with flamboyant cuttlefish, pygmy cuttlefish, bob-tail squids and even more to be discovered – anything is possible here.

Bobtail squid are a highlight of night dives

For underwater photographers, this is a macro mecca with nudibranch clinging to the corals, pygmy seahorses hiding out in the sea fans and a plethora of other minute wonders just waiting to be discovered.

Pygmy seahorses are a common sight in Lembeh

In Lembeh it’s not just the vast array of these “critters” which makes it a special place to dive, it’s also the abundance in which they are found here. Logbook entries after dives in Lembeh tend to start looking like shopping lists if you write down every species that you spot on a dive!!

There is a countless array of nudibranch species in the Strait

Reefs & Wrecks

For those divers who are not convinced about muck diving, Lembeh has so much more to offer from stunning reefs at the north end of the Strait through to wrecks in the harbor but once you’ve tried the muck diving you’ll soon discover how addictive it is! Don’t say we didn’t warn you…….

Why not combine diving in Lembeh with world-class reef and wall diving in Bunaken

Combo with Bunaken

Did you know that Two Fish Divers Lembeh is just a short ride away from Two Fish Divers Bunaken Island resort? Dive at both of our North Sulawesi resorts and you’ll experience the best muck diving on the planet combined with world-class wall diving, turtles, sharks and vibrant reefs at our beautiful Bunaken Island resort.