Pemuteran

Pemuteran's reef was wrecked in the 1990s by blast and cyanide fishing and then by the 1998 bleaching event, and the village response is what the place is now known for: from 2000 the community, with the scientists Wolf Hilbertz and Thomas Goreau, installed Biorock structures - steel frames carrying a low-voltage current that precipitates calcium carbonate onto them, accelerating coral growth and improving survival - and the installation grew into what the Global Coral Reef Alliance calls the largest coral restoration project of its kind in the world, with dozens of structures in the bay covered in coral and fish. The village also organised its own reef patrol against blast fishing. Alongside it are shore diving, the Menjangan boats and a quiet strip of guesthouses on a black sand beach.

Highlights

• Biorock structures - electrified steel frames grown over with coral in the bay.
• A community restoration - described by its scientists as the largest of its kind, run from the village.
• A local reef patrol - the village enforcement that stopped the blast fishing.
• Shore and Menjangan diving - the reef in the bay and the boats to the island.

When to go

April to October. Three days.

Before you go

The beach is black sand and modest; the reef is the reason to come. The Biorock structures are visibly artificial in shape, which some find odd. Menjangan boats and park fees are separate.

Nearby

West Bali National Park and Menjangan are west; Lovina is east.

Key facts