Nusa Penida
Indonesia · Southeast Asia
Nusa Penida is Bali's offshore island and one of Indonesia's most thrilling dive destinations, famous worldwide as the best place on Earth to encounter the ocean sunfish (mola mola) from July through October. The island sits at the confluence of upwelling cold water from the deep Lombok Strait, fueling extraordinary marine productivity. Dramatic underwater topography — sheer walls dropping hundreds of metres, submerged pinnacles, and sweeping drift channels — combines with the nutrient-rich current to attract manta rays year-round, schooling fish in vast numbers, and the bizarre mola mola coming up from the deep to be cleaned. Currents here can be powerful and unpredictable, making many sites intermediate to advanced territory.
How this reef is doing
ⓘ How we measure thisReef state
Live coral covers 48% of this reef.
Coral cover
Fish life
More fish than a healthy reef of its kind.
Heat
Fishing
Open to fishing, and the water is busy.
Sources · MERMAID and the survey teams · Reef Life Survey · Global Fishing Watch and reef gravity
Coral cover over time
Live coral cover, by survey year
Across 15 survey years from 2010 to 2025, live coral cover here has risen from 39% to 48%. Every point is a real survey reading, never a projection.
Live coral cover, percent by year
| Year | Coral cover |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 39% |
| 2011 | 38% |
| 2012 | 41% |
| 2013 | 35% |
| 2015 | 45% |
| 2016 | 39% |
| 2017 | 39% |
| 2018 | 28% |
| 2019 | 27% |
| 2020 | 33% |
| 2021 | 28% |
| 2022 | 19% |
| 2023 | 22% |
| 2024 | 23% |
| 2025 | 48% |
What you will see
35 species across the dive sites here
Great Barracuda
Seen 28 days ago
at Toyapakeh
Least concern
Whitetip Reef Shark
Seen 28 days ago
at Crystal Bay
Vulnerable
Reef Manta Ray
Seen 1 month ago
at Manta Point
Vulnerable
Yellow-lipped Sea Krait
Seen 1 month ago
at Crystal Bay
Least concern
Pyramid Butterflyfish
Seen 2 months ago
at Manta Point
Least concern
Ocean Sunfish (Mola)
Seen 2 months ago
at Crystal Bay
Vulnerable
Moon Wrasse
Seen 2 months ago
at Manta Point
Least concern
Long-spined Sea Urchin
Seen 3 months ago
at Manta Point
Yellowback Fusilier
Seen 3 months ago
at Toyapakeh
Least concern
Cleaner Wrasse
Seen 4 months ago
at Crystal Bay
Least concern
Bluefin Trevally
Seen 4 months ago
at Manta Point
Least concern
Blue-streak Fusilier
Seen 5 months ago
at Toyapakeh
Least concern
Lionfish (Red)
Seen 6 months ago
at Gamat Bay
Least concern
Pygmy Seahorse
Seen 6 months ago
at Gamat Bay
Least concern
Giant Trevally
Seen 9 months ago
at Toyapakeh
Least concern
Giant Clam
Seen Jun 2025
at Crystal Bay
Critically endangered
Frogfish (Warty)
Seen Mar 2025
at Gamat Bay
Least concern
Feather Star (Crinoid)
Seen Jan 2025
at Toyapakeh
Nudibranchs (Spanish Dancer)
Seen Dec 2024
at Gamat Bay
Ornate Ghost Pipefish
Seen Oct 2024
at Gamat Bay
Least concern
Black-tip Reef Shark
Seen Mar 2024
at Toyapakeh
Vulnerable
Acropora Coral
Seen year round
at Toyapakeh
Blackfin Snapdragon
Seen year round
at Manta Point
Blackspotted Sweetlips
Seen year round
at Crystal Bay
Blue-ringed Octopus
Seen year round
at Gamat Bay
Least concern
Bumphead Parrotfish
Seen year round
at Toyapakeh
Vulnerable
Garden Eel
Seen year round
at Toyapakeh
Mandarin Fish
Seen year round
at Gamat Bay
Least concern
Scleractinian Hard Corals (mixed gardens)
Seen year round
at Crystal Bay
Trumpetfish
Seen year round
at Crystal Bay
Eagle Ray
Seasonal visitor
at Manta Point
Endangered
Manta Ray
Seasonal visitor
at Toyapakeh
Reef Squid
Seasonal visitor
at Crystal Bay
Least concern
Tasselled Wobbegong
Seasonal visitor
at Crystal Bay
Least concern
Yellowtail Barracuda
Seasonal visitor
at Manta Point
Least concern
Dive sites
Crystal Bay
ocean sunfish (mola) · yellow-lipped sea krait · blackspotted sweetlips · whitetip reef shark
Manta Point
reef manta ray · bluefin trevally · yellowtail barracuda · blackfin snapdragon
Toyapakeh
garden eel · blue-streak fusilier · giant trevally · great barracuda
Gamat Bay
pygmy seahorse · ornate ghost pipefish · mandarin fish · frogfish (warty)