When on December 26th, 2004 an earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale shook the northern part of Sumatra causing a tsunami which rolled all over the Indian Ocean and when reaching the shores killed more than 300 000 people in the area surrounding the Indian Ocean, we had already booked our flights to a destination close to the epicentre of the tsunami. During the next weeks and months we watched anxiously the news coming in from Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and even Africa. Banda Aceh, the region we wanted to visit in northern Sumatra, was the worst affected area. With more than 200 000 people killed in Indonesia we could not imagine to go there for diving only half a year later. Also we did not know whether the tsunami had caused similar destructions under water as above.

However, during the following weeks we gradually found out, that our destination, the small island of Pulau Weh only an hour´s boat ride away from the town of Banda Aceh had not suffered as much as many places on the mainland. There were "only" 12 people killed, most houses close to the beach had been destroyed but the high shores to the west and the mountainous profile of the island obviously prevented a disaster like in other areas.

Pulau Weh is situated on the eastern border of the Indian Ocean. So you will find the typical fishlife of the region but there are also species from the more diverse indo-pacific area further east. Special current conditions also contribute to the island´s status as a regional hot spot of biodiversity.
Gerald Allen and Mark Erdmann who visited Pulau Weh in May 2005 discovered during their visit again some new species like a sand eel colony near the underwater volcano and a new species of Dottybacks (Pseudochromis sp.).

Most dive sites are situated in the north-west of the island. The sites are usually small walls and slopes, nearly always covered with big boulders. On most sites there are many species of gorgonian fans and lots of green coral (Tubastraea micrantha) full of Anthias and Butterflyfishes. In the shallows there are nice coral gardens with a good diversity of hard- and soft coral. The dive sites in the west are covered with Gorgonians and soft coral.

On many dive sites big schools of fusiliers and snappers circle around. Jacks and tunas are also often to be seen. There are many species of morays around which find ideal conditions among the big boulders and rocks. You will see many giant morays, honeycomb morays and ribbon eels.

The big pelagics are also here: We met huge napoleon wrasses, blacktip reef sharks, giant groupers, eagle rays, dogtooth tuna and giant trevallies. From January until May there is a good chance to see manta rays off the west coast. In July/August however with the winds coming mainly from the west it can sometimes be difficult to reach these dive sites.

We met the green and hawksbill turtles near the reefs and there are many different kinds of scorpion fishes and many different species of nudibranchs.

Visibility was better than average and usually above 20 m. There are strong currents at several dive spots (Arus Paleh).

Pulau Weh has at least two wrecks on the diving agenda:
Just in front of Sabang harbour lies a small tugboat in only 14 m of water which is a good dive for critter-lovers.
The second wreck is only a few minutes away from the dive centre. It is the 134 m long former German cargo ship "Sophie Rickmers" which lies on the bottom at 54 m. An interesting dive indeed - but only for experienced divers!

Something extraordinary to be seen is the very active underwater volcano of Pulau Weh. In only 9 m depth hot gazes steam out of fumaroles from the sea floor. It is like diving through curtains of bubbles. This underwater volcano is much more impressive than the famous underwater volcano near the Sangihe Islands.

Rubiah Seagarden

This is a shallow and relaxed dive in a beautiful coral garden. Also a very good spot for night dives. We discovered a spanish dancer, some small sepia and hermite crabs. During daytime it is the usual moray eels, blue spotted stingrays, many different species of scorpionfish and nudibranchs.

Arus Balee (Widow´s Current)

The dive site is situated between the small islands of Rubiah and Seulako near a rocky pinnacle. We do not know whether the currents here have made local fishermen´s wifes to widows, but there have been some divers who had to surface far away in the blue after having been caught by the unpredictable currents at this dive site. There are always large schools of fusiliers and snappers around and the chance to see pelagics is quite good. In the sheltered areas we found many ribbon eels, blue spotted stingrays and scorpion fish.

Rubiah Utara (Rubiah North)

A dive here starts on the north point of Rubiah Island by following the rocky slope covered with big boulders to the north. There are many gorgonian fans and green coral around. If conditions are fine you may even reach Arus Balee and finish the dive there.

Batee Tokong and Shark Plateau

Batee Tokong is part of a big underwater plateau stretching to the north. Some rocks even reach the surface and form a wall down to 25 m where a plateau begins which is literally covered with big fans. We watched a giant grouper there. Further north this dive sites continues to Shark Plateau where there is a good chance to watch napoleon wrasses, giant groupers and blacktip reef sharks.

Batee Gla

After descending to a sandy slope with many sand eels the dive continues through a labyrinth of big boulders with scenic passages in between. We saw turtles here, manthis shrimps, many morays and a giant grouper.

The Canyon

This is a fascinating, quite deep dive on the west coast of Pulau Weh. During the west monsoon it is sometimes difficult to reach as waves can become quite high during this time of the year.
Under water are beautiful rock formations. There is a cave near the southern end, a deep canyon with fan and soft coral covered walls and an arch at the northern end of the dive site.
There are usually big napoleon wrasses, schools of jacks and blacktip reef sharks around. When there is enough plankton in the water manta rays can be seen.

Little Wreck & Underwater volcano

The small tugboat near the harbour of Sabang lies in only 14 m of water an a sandy bottom. Visibility is far from good but it is a simple, easy dive for critter-lovers. There are pipefishes, seahorses, nudibranchs, twinspot lionfish and ghost pipefish around.
This dive is usually combined with a stop at the underwater volcano. It is a fascinating experience to dive in curtains of bubbles streaming out of the sea floor and to warm up over fumaroles in the ground. It is the most exciting underwater volcano you can dive in Indonesia!