The small, neighboring isle of
Nusa Ceningan can be reached by boat from Desa Lembongan
or by simply walking out to it across the narrow,
shallow 200-meter wide channel at low tide. The
sea between the two islands is filled with seaweed
gardens, so take a guide so you don't cause damage.
The four-by-one-km island, with a limestone and
chalky landscape and a 100-meter-high hill in the
center, only has one village and no places to stay.
It does offer great surfing, sandy beaches, and
lazuli and cobalt-blue coral pools filled with starfish.
Immaculate snorkeling and scuba diving, with superior
visibility and infinite small sealife, is possible
in the calm, warm, crystal-clear channel between
the two islands. Off the temple is a surf break,
which can jump in size quickly, as the waves come
straight in from deep water onto a shallow ledge.
The best way to get out to the breaks and around
the indefinite channel between the two islands is
to hire an outrigger.
The Balinese spear fish here, using homemade wooden
spears. They even spear two-inch fish. Watch the
sharks in this area. A Balinese was killed off Nusa
Ceningan in 1988. He'd speared a sea turtle and
was dragging it bleeding through the water when
he was attacked. His headless corpse was found two
days later. A dangerous sport.
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