Gili Asahan

Gili Asahan is a small island in the southeast of Lombok Island which is administratively located in Batu Putih Village, Sekotong Tengah District, West Lombok Regency.

Geographically, Gili Asahan is located at coordinates 8° 44′ 18.016″ South Latitude 115° 53′ 12.041″ East Longitude with its northern border bordering the Lombok Strait, to the south bordering Blongas Bay, to the west bordering Tanjung Bangko Bangko and to the west East sea border with Gili Gede.

The ecosystem on Gili Asahan is in the form of seagrass and mangroves. Seagrass generally grows around the southern, western and northern coasts of Gili Asahan. Gili Asahan has 6 types of seagrass out of the 13 types in Indonesia, namely Cymodocea Rotundata, Cymodocea Serrulata, Enhalus Acoroides, Halophila Ovalis Thallasia Hemprichii and Syringodium Isoetifolium. Meanwhile, the types of mangroves on Gili Asahan are Aegiceras Corniculatum, which grows on the east side of the island and Rhizopora Apiculata, which grows on the south side of the island.

Apart from having seagrass and mangrove ecosystems, Gili Asahan also has underwater natural beauty. For divers, Gili Asahan may be a familiar name. Here there are several diving spots which are favorites for divers, one of which is the secret garden. At this point, the water current is quite strong so divers have to be careful and pay attention to the directions given by their companions.

For those who like underwater photography, the secret garden diving point on Gili Asahan is the right place because it has water visibility of around 25 meters, clear enough to photograph various coral reefs and fish. At this location there are nudibranchs which are often targeted by divers because of their beauty.

Next, there is a sanking point. The characteristics of the waters are dynamic, sometimes calm, sometimes flowing. The inhabitants of this diving point are fish of various colors, soft coral, hard coral, anemones and many more.

With visibility of 25-30 meters, it makes it easy for photographers to capture its beauty. The next diving point that is no less charming is Belongan, here there is a cluster of pinacle coral with a diameter of 2 m and a height of around 5 m, there are also frog fish and lobsters. Even though visibility is only around 10-15 meters, Belongan is still interesting to explore.

Belongan is also suitable as a diving spot at night. If there is a full moon, it is not impossible for moonlight to penetrate the waters at a certain depth. There are cuttlefish, crustaceans, crabs and various kinds of fish that can be found.

Apart from diving, other activities you can do are swimming, snorkeling or just walking around enjoying the quite calm natural beauty of Gili Asahan. Gili Asahan is also blessed with hills that can be climbed and several fauna that are similar to those found in Australia because the Lombok Strait marks the boundary of Asian flora and fauna or better known as the Wallace Line.