Tulamben and the USAT Liberty Wreck

Tulamben is a quiet fishing village on the northeast coast of Bali, in the Kubu district of Karangasem, and it owes its fame to one remarkable shipwreck. The USAT Liberty, a United States Army transport ship, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in January 1942 while carrying cargo in the waters off Lombok. Badly damaged, it was towed towards Bali and beached at Tulamben so its cargo could be saved, and there it lay on the shore for two decades. In 1963, the eruption of Mount Agung and the earth tremors that came with it pushed the hull off the beach and into the sea, where it settled on a sandy slope just offshore. Over the following decades, the wreck has become one of the richest artificial reefs in Indonesia. Today the Liberty lies in shallow water, with its upper parts only a few metres below the surface and the deepest sections reaching around thirty metres, so it can be enjoyed by snorkellers, beginner divers and experienced divers alike. The hull is covered in hard and soft corals, sea fans and sponges, and it teems with life: schools of jacks and fusiliers, parrotfish, groupers, turtles at times and a wealth of small creatures loved by macro photographers. The village name, from batulambih or many stones, describes the beach well: there is no sand, just smooth, rounded volcanic stones washed down from Agung, so footwear is useful. Tulamben is a place to slow down. Dive centres line the road, sunrise dives on the wreck are a local speciality, and nearby Amed offers more coral bays, black-sand beaches and a relaxed scene of small resorts and warungs.

Snorkelling or diving: snorkellers can reach the wreck by walking in from the stony beach and swimming a short distance out; the bow and the upper hull are visible in clear conditions. Local porters, many of them women from the village, carry tanks and gear down to the shore for divers, a tradition that supports local families. Divers usually do two or three dives on the wreck at different depths and times of day. If you are not certified, many centres run introductory dives on the shallow parts of the wreck, and the calm conditions make it a good place to learn. Hire fins and masks locally, wear reef-safe sunscreen and do not touch the corals.

Conditions: visibility and calm water are generally best in the dry season, roughly April to November; in the wet season, swell and runoff can reduce visibility, but the wreck is diveable most of the year. Mornings are usually calmer. Mount Agung looms behind the village, and like the rest of the east, the area depends on volcanic activity reports, so check current alerts before travelling.

Getting there and staying: Tulamben is about two and a half to three hours from the south and around two hours from Ubud. A day trip is possible but long; it is much better to stay a night or two in Tulamben or nearby Amed, where Jemeluk Bay offers easy coral snorkelling and a small Japanese shipwreck lies off Banyuning. Combine the trip with Tirta Gangga and Lempuyang on the way.