Forty-eight human figures sit in a circle on white sand off Gili Meno, holding each other, slowly disappearing under coral. It is the photograph everybody comes back with, and the stop people remember a year later.
What you are looking at
The work is called The Nest, by the British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, placed here in 2017. The figures are cast in a cement designed to let coral attach to it, so the piece was always meant to become a reef rather than stay a sculpture. Years on, soft corals and sponges have taken hold, and small fish shelter between the bodies. What you swim over now is half artwork, half living reef.
Where it is and how deep
The circle sits roughly a hundred metres off the west coast of Gili Meno, in three to six metres of water. That is shallow enough to see everything clearly from the surface, and shallow enough to drop down on a single breath if you want to be level with the faces.
When to go
Morning, between eight and eleven. The water is at its clearest, the wind has not started yet, and the sun is high enough to light the sand without flattening everything. By the middle of the day the surface chops up and the day boats arrive together.
Swimming out, or coming by boat
You can swim to the statues from the beach on Gili Meno — the walk-in is easy and it costs nothing. Plenty of people do it, and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
What a boat buys you is the current and the timing. Water moves between the three islands, it moves harder on some tides than others, and the swim back is the part people underestimate. Coming by boat we arrive on the right side of the drift at the right hour, there is someone on the surface watching, and you spend your energy on the statues instead of on getting there.
Getting the photo
Go down on the way out of a breath, not into one — you sink easier and you stay calmer. Keep the morning sun behind you and shoot slightly upward, so the figures stand against the light instead of against the sand. And keep your fins up: one careless kick fills the water with sand and ruins the next ten minutes for everyone.
If you want the shot of yourself among the figures, say so before we get in. I take it from above on one breath, and you get the photos on WhatsApp the same evening.
Seeing them with me
The statues are a stop on the shared snorkeling trip and on the private boat. On a private boat we can get there first, before the other boats, which on a calm morning means the circle to yourselves.
What is included
- A stop at the statues on every snorkeling trip
- Mask, snorkel, fins and life jacket
- A guide in the water with you
- Photos of you among the figures
What to bring
- Reef-safe sunscreen
- A waterproof camera
- Cash in rupiah
- A towel
Questions people ask
Do I need to dive to see the statues? +
No. They sit three to six metres down in clear water, so you see the whole circle from the surface with a mask. Going down is optional, and on one breath it is easier than people expect.
Is it free to see the statues? +
If you swim out from the beach on Gili Meno, yes. Most people join a boat trip because of the current, the timing and the other stops along the way — turtles, coral gardens, the hatchery.
Can children see them? +
Yes, with a life jacket and someone next to them. The water is calm there in the morning, and the figures are clearly visible from the surface.
Message me and we sort out your day
No booking platform, no deposit, no commission in between. Tell me your dates and how many you are, and I answer in minutes.
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