Blacktip Reef Sharks: The Gentle Guardians of the Gili Islands

For many divers and snorkellers, the first glimpse of a shark around the Gili Islands is a highlight of the trip. The species you are most likely to meet is the blacktip reef shark, easy to recognise by the crisp black tips on its fins, especially the dorsal fin and the lower lobe of the tail.

Blacktip reef sharks are small and slender, usually well under two metres long, and they favour the shallow edges of coral reefs. They are naturally shy and tend to keep their distance, gliding away as soon as you approach. They pose no real danger to swimmers who simply watch and let them pass; the best encounters come from staying calm and never chasing or feeding them.

Around Gili Trawangan, the dive site known as Shark Point is famous for reef sharks, and whitetip reef sharks are also regularly seen resting on the sand or under ledges. Local dive centres can take you there, whatever your level.

Seeing sharks is good news. As predators, they help keep reef fish populations in balance, and their presence is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Reef sharks are vulnerable to overfishing across Indonesia, which is why conservation work and responsible tourism around Lombok and the Gilis matter so much.

Stay at The Gili Beach Resort and you are only a short boat ride from the best dive sites, with the calm of the north beach to come back to.