Balun

Balun is a wall dive on the open Adriatic flank of the northern Kornati islands, where the archipelago's limestone crowns drop from the surface into deep blue water. Finning southeast along the cliff, divers reach a terrace near 26 metres where the rock turns thick with red and violet gorgonian sea fans (Paramuricea clavata) and golden Eunicella, packed among yellow sulphur sponges at a density rarely seen elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Dusky groupers hang off the wall while conger eels, scorpionfish and spiny lobsters wedge into the cracks. Diving here is permitted only with a licensed centre inside Kornati National Park.