Nico Dives Cool Bali

Technical diving in Candidasa: Massive Walls & Shark Caves

Tech Diving at Gili Tepekong

Gili Tepekong is an amazing and very impressive dive spot for technical diving. It is essential to know how to manage current issues, but there is always a good place to hide and find safety. Understanding the diving conditions is important for organizing an enjoyable tech dive here.

We start the dive in front of the large East Wall. We drop to 13 meters, then swim along the wall with our right shoulders toward the reef, looking for anemones, table coral, scorpionfish, nudibranchs, and cuttlefish. After swimming for 10 minutes, we reach the entrance to the “passage,” a horizontal tunnel that descends from 16m to 28m.

The exit is located exactly in the middle of the deep wall that we will explore during the second part of the dive. Coming out of the passage, we continue descending to 40m with the wall on our right shoulder. Here, we find a patch of sand where we normally spot white-tip reef sharks, cuttlefish, and turtles.

From there, we will dive further into a deep coral plateau ranging from 40m to 55m. During the season, this is the best place to spot the famous Mola mola; you can see up to 5 there. When the deep portion of the dive is finished, we head back through the tunnel to our starting point to complete all decompression requirements.

Tech Diving at Gili Mimpang

Technical diving at Gili Mimpang is a great option to see Mola mola, white-tip reef sharks, turtles, and huge schools of fish, with big trevally hunting. The coral reef is alive, covered with anthias and great macro critters. You can see three small islands or large rocks on the surface, but it looks like one big block underwater.

We start the dive in front of the rock to the west. We descend to 15 meters and follow the slope, with the reef on our left shoulder, until we reach a large coral formation in the shape of a mushroom. We will see beautiful orange soft coral, big sponges, a school of sweetlips, and big pufferfish and surgeonfish hiding inside.

After checking the coral formation, we descend the slope to 25 meters to look for resting sharks on the bottom. We will enjoy that coral slope for a moment until we reach the end. The slope then becomes a wall, and we turn left. It is now a wall dive where we can stay at 40 to 50 meters. The wall is covered with coral and abundant sea life.

After the wall, we reach the other side of the island. There is a big plateau with an edge where the Mola mola like to come to get cleaned. When the bottom time is finished, we go up the slope to a stunning coral garden to complete our decompression requirements.

Tech Diving at Gili Biaha

The visible part of Gili Biaha is like the tip of an iceberg. While the rock at the surface appears small, the coral walls are massive and perfect for technical diving. From the side, Gili Biaha resembles a croissant; we start the tech dive in the center of this crescent.

We begin the dive in the blue and swim toward the wall. We reach the wall at a depth of 10 meters to start the first part of the dive. Keeping the wall on the left shoulder at 10 meters, we swim along until we find the entrance to the Gili Biaha Shark Cave. Inside this large cave, we can see white-tip reef sharks, lobsters, fluorescent fish, schools of glassfish, and much more.

After visiting Gili Biaha shark cave, we begin the deep portion of the tech dive. We descend along the wall with the wall on our left shoulder to depths of 40 to 50 meters until we reach the edge of the island, where we may encounter current. At that point, we turn and keep the wall on the right shoulder. We then explore the deep section until our bottom time is finished. In the depths, we look for sharks, schools of fish, and Mola-mola during the season (from June to October).

We then ascend and complete our decompression obligations as we zigzag along the rich coral walls. During the ascent, we look for frogfish, scorpionfish, octopus, cuttlefish, very rare nudibranchs, turtles, and beautiful anemones with their anemonefish and anemone crabs.

Our Tech Protocols

Built on precision. Our protocols are designed by tech divers who respect the depth.

● Depth Limits: Max 60 meters on Trimix; max 50 meters on Air.
● Gas Planning: Our protocols limit Air to a maximum of 50m; Normoxic Trimix is mandatory for any deeper profile to ensure total mental clarity. For those prioritizing absolute situational awareness, we offer the flexibility to transition to Trimix starting from 40m.
● Configurations: Full support for Twinsets, Sidemount, and CCR.
● CCR Support: We are AP Inspiration specialists. Sofnolime (Sorb), Trimix, and Oxygen fills are available.
● Gas Blending: Precision fills of Trimix and custom Nitrox/Deco gases up to 100% O2 from a reputable, high-standard station with strict filtration.
● Safety: We are located in Sanur, with quick access to the hyperbaric chamber in Denpasar.

Requirements & Booking

● Certification: Proof of Tech certification (SSI, TDI, PADI TecRec, IANTD, GUE, etc.).
● Insurance: Must cover technical diving depths.
● Check-out: A shallow check-out/weight-check dive may be required, depending on your recent experience.

Ready to go deep?