© Scubapro

Nestled in the heart of Indonesia, Lembeh Strait is a gem renowned for its exceptional muck diving experience, captivating divers from around the globe. The strait is famous for its dark volcanic sands, which create an ideal backdrop for uncovering a vibrant tableau of peculiar marine life. Divers here can delight in the presence of fantastical creatures like the hairy frogfish, pygmy seahorses, and the elusive mimic octopus. For macro photography enthusiasts, Lembeh offers a visual feast with every dive, presenting endless opportunities to capture the strait's tiny wonders.

The diving experience in Lembeh is not limited to its shores. Adventurous divers often opt for liveaboard trips that explore the wider region, including the stunning wall dives of Bunaken and the pristine coral reefs of the Bangka Islands. These trips offer a diverse range of underwater topographies and marine life, creating a comprehensive and unforgettable diving journey. Whether you're diving from Manado or right in Lembeh, the waters promise a rich dive experience characterized by some of the world's most unusual and captivating underwater spectacles.

Dive Activity

Diving in Lembeh

Lembeh diving is renowned worldwide for its incredible muck diving sites. From the dark sandy slopes of Nudi Falls and Police Pier to white sand muck diving at Pantai Parigi, there’s plenty of sites to begin your search for illusory and rare macro critters. Scuba diving in Lembeh is very easy and most of the dive sites have no current making it the perfect place for macro-photography. Aside from muck dives, Lembeh also has some fascinating shipwrecks, such as the Japanese World War II cargo ship, Mawali wreck, which has its fair share of macro creatures to discover. Lembeh also offers reef diving sites with small walls, slopes, and pinnacles, such as the likes of Angel’s Window, to add some colour to your diving trip.

Dive Sites

The best Months to dive in Lembeh

Scuba diving in the Lembeh Strait is possible all year round but conditions can vary. When diving Lembeh, you’ll find that lower visibility and colder temperatures mean a greater abundance of macro creatures and hence the prime time to examine the black sands. Temperatures are at their lowest in July through to August making it peak time to visit. The rainy season runs from November through to February and during the worst rainy months of January and February the seas will be rougher and occasionally some further dive sites will be out of bounds. For divers planning to take a macro photography dive course, they may choose to visit between October and December, when visibility is at its best.

Top Wildlife Sightings in Lembeh

While you are not going to see any of your larger pelagics here, there are enough macro species to entertain almost anyone. Disguising their bodies against the black sand you’ll find the hairy frogfish, thorny seahorse and mimic octopus. While harlequin shrimp, rare nudibranch and the flamboyant cuttlefish stand out from the crowd, gifting you with the perfect opportunity to capture them on camera. Many different kinds of octopus such as the blue-ringed and wunderpus, various squid species, mantis shrimp and orangutan crab all wait for their next human encounter. Pygmy seahorse lie undetected on large pink gorgonian sea fans as you fin by.

While diving in the Lembeh Strait allows you to see all the usual marine fish suspects, there are also some rarer species ripe for discovery. Ambon scorpionfish, snake eels, stonefish, sea robins, stargazers, devilfish, and even the weedy scorpionfish can be found. While the beautiful mandarinfish, ghost pipefish and the endemic Banggai cardinalfish all lie within the waters of the Lembeh Strait.

Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 300

Octopus

Octopus

449 Sightings
J
12
F
16
M
26
A
37
M
15
J
54
J
68
A
42
S
39
O
51
N
56
D
33

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 200

Moray Eel

Moray Eel

219 Sightings
J
7
F
9
M
18
A
40
M
5
J
15
J
35
A
19
S
26
O
20
N
15
D
10

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 27

Barracuda

Barracuda

21 Sightings
J
3
F
0
M
1
A
12
M
0
J
1
J
1
A
3
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 600

Wrasse

Wrasse

20 Sightings
J
3
F
0
M
0
A
8
M
0
J
4
J
1
A
1
S
0
O
1
N
1
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 3000

Nudibranch

Nudibranch

781 Sightings
J
17
F
40
M
58
A
49
M
28
J
96
J
124
A
82
S
56
O
94
N
87
D
50

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 3400

Shrimp

Shrimp

567 Sightings
J
6
F
36
M
46
A
45
M
13
J
81
J
71
A
67
S
48
O
59
N
60
D
35

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 28

Clownfish

Clownfish

452 Sightings
J
7
F
28
M
39
A
55
M
2
J
54
J
60
A
51
S
41
O
47
N
57
D
11

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 7000

Crab

Crab

447 Sightings
J
5
F
29
M
22
A
40
M
7
J
68
J
53
A
48
S
36
O
50
N
61
D
28

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 12

Lionfish

Lionfish

386 Sightings
J
11
F
19
M
45
A
36
M
5
J
52
J
53
A
44
S
37
O
30
N
41
D
13

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 120

Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish

381 Sightings
J
6
F
15
M
24
A
26
M
9
J
42
J
62
A
41
S
37
O
44
N
54
D
21

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 50

Frogfish

Frogfish

348 Sightings
J
9
F
21
M
27
A
34
M
5
J
31
J
26
A
34
S
45
O
34
N
62
D
20

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 130

Pufferfish

Pufferfish

288 Sightings
J
9
F
20
M
31
A
35
M
4
J
38
J
40
A
32
S
18
O
23
N
33
D
5

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 250

Scorpionfish

Scorpionfish

281 Sightings
J
7
F
12
M
15
A
43
M
3
J
35
J
31
A
28
S
32
O
21
N
42
D
12
Common Seahorse

Common Seahorse

270 Sightings
J
8
F
26
M
21
A
27
M
12
J
26
J
47
A
18
S
25
O
21
N
20
D
19

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 130

Pipefish

Pipefish

241 Sightings
J
17
F
19
M
17
A
28
M
10
J
19
J
39
A
17
S
30
O
19
N
19
D
7

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 7

Pygmy Seahorse

Pygmy Seahorse

196 Sightings
J
7
F
10
M
18
A
24
M
6
J
19
J
32
A
18
S
26
O
9
N
10
D
17

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 25

Boxfish

Boxfish

180 Sightings
J
5
F
18
M
10
A
28
M
1
J
16
J
22
A
17
S
23
O
16
N
17
D
7

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 80

Stingrays

Stingrays

161 Sightings
J
2
F
8
M
14
A
28
M
5
J
18
J
24
A
19
S
2
O
16
N
9
D
16

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 8

Bannerfish

Bannerfish

145 Sightings
J
0
F
6
M
9
A
21
M
1
J
21
J
25
A
32
S
2
O
10
N
15
D
3

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 40

Triggerfish

Triggerfish

140 Sightings
J
3
F
3
M
11
A
26
M
1
J
17
J
25
A
30
S
7
O
5
N
9
D
3

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 120

Flounder

Flounder

131 Sightings
J
5
F
5
M
14
A
22
M
0
J
13
J
26
A
9
S
9
O
11
N
13
D
4

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 300

Squid

Squid

129 Sightings
J
4
F
3
M
7
A
16
M
3
J
13
J
13
A
7
S
31
O
26
N
2
D
4

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 130

Butterfly Fish

Butterfly Fish

117 Sightings
J
3
F
1
M
10
A
22
M
1
J
16
J
18
A
23
S
2
O
9
N
9
D
3
Spiny Seahorse

Spiny Seahorse

102 Sightings
J
2
F
11
M
7
A
19
M
1
J
11
J
15
A
5
S
20
O
3
N
7
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 3

Trumpetfish

Trumpetfish

98 Sightings
J
4
F
2
M
10
A
14
M
0
J
10
J
14
A
6
S
22
O
3
N
11
D
2
Ribbon Moray Eel (Ghost Eel)

Ribbon Moray Eel (Ghost Eel)

94 Sightings
J
2
F
8
M
5
A
13
M
1
J
10
J
12
A
7
S
19
O
7
N
10
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 20

Porcupinefish

Porcupinefish

87 Sightings
J
2
F
3
M
18
A
16
M
1
J
12
J
12
A
2
S
7
O
10
N
4
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 100

Parrotfish

Parrotfish

85 Sightings
J
3
F
8
M
4
A
17
M
0
J
8
J
12
A
19
S
1
O
6
N
5
D
2

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 90

Angelfish

Angelfish

83 Sightings
J
3
F
1
M
10
A
23
M
0
J
16
J
13
A
8
S
2
O
2
N
5
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 150

Sweetlips and Grunts

Sweetlips and Grunts

78 Sightings
J
2
F
0
M
4
A
18
M
0
J
8
J
12
A
8
S
15
O
4
N
4
D
3

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 350

Damselfish

Damselfish

77 Sightings
J
3
F
1
M
3
A
19
M
0
J
13
J
7
A
20
S
1
O
1
N
8
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 300

Snake Eel

Snake Eel

60 Sightings
J
2
F
5
M
7
A
9
M
4
J
9
J
9
A
3
S
0
O
11
N
1
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 30

Stonefish

Stonefish

58 Sightings
J
1
F
5
M
0
A
12
M
1
J
5
J
18
A
3
S
1
O
5
N
3
D
4

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 30

Sand Eel

Sand Eel

58 Sightings
J
2
F
2
M
5
A
4
M
0
J
4
J
5
A
3
S
17
O
12
N
3
D
1
Leaf Scorpionfish

Leaf Scorpionfish

57 Sightings
J
0
F
2
M
1
A
14
M
4
J
2
J
14
A
2
S
14
O
3
N
1
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 60

Soldierfish

Soldierfish

40 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
3
A
16
M
0
J
6
J
4
A
7
S
0
O
0
N
2
D
2

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 1900

Starfish

Starfish

35 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
0
A
4
M
2
J
11
J
18
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 15

Garfish

Garfish

30 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
0
A
14
M
0
J
4
J
6
A
6
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 125

Gurnards

Gurnards

30 Sightings
J
0
F
3
M
0
A
7
M
0
J
6
J
6
A
2
S
1
O
0
N
5
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 90

Goatfish

Goatfish

28 Sightings
J
2
F
0
M
0
A
13
M
0
J
3
J
6
A
1
S
2
O
0
N
0
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 55

Lobster

Lobster

27 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
1
A
3
M
0
J
4
J
3
A
0
S
14
O
0
N
0
D
2
Leafy Seadragon

Leafy Seadragon

24 Sightings
J
1
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
2
J
2
A
2
S
17
O
0
N
0
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 85

Surgeonfish

Surgeonfish

23 Sightings
J
3
F
0
M
1
A
8
M
0
J
4
J
1
A
2
S
0
O
2
N
2
D
0