6 caves · down to 75 m · 2 suitable for an intro team
Cave diving in Buton
- Caves6
- Max depth75 m
- Water temperature~26 °C
- Dive centres1
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Fills nearby
- Sulawesi Dive Trek (Baubau)Air, oxygen and helium for trimix (helium subject to availability); a portable compressor for remote trips
Why come here
Buton and neighbouring Muna in Southeast Sulawesi are the only place in Indonesia with organised cave diving: freshwater caves in water of ~26 °C, crystal clear and with almost no flow by the operator's account. Most caves are shallower than 20 m, but fracture caves go to 40–50 m and some sinkholes to ~60 m, and Oe Mamba has a hydrogen sulphide layer. Everything goes through Sulawesi Dive Trek in Baubau: without them you won't find the entrances and have no gas on Muna. Many caves have been known only for a short time and are partly mapped, some need rope technique (SRT) and hours of walking, and the caves on Muna are the villages' drinking water sources. There is no chamber on Buton or Muna: ask the operator about the evacuation plan.
Don't miss
- Laulawi (Muna): the only freshwater source of Buton Tengah, whose entrance was found only in 2018 and which an international expedition explored in 2024.
- Oe Mamba (Muna): a reddish hydrogen sulphide layer ~10 m thick between two water layers of different chemistry, deep enough for decompression.
- Goa Loba-Loba (Lakudo): very clear water where beams of light fall inside around noon.
On a rest day
- Buton Palace Fortress: The fortress of the former sultanate in Baubau, the largest in the Indonesian archipelago by land area, with twelve gates, a royal mosque from 1712 and a wooden flagpole from the same year.
- Liang Metanduno: A cave on Muna with hundreds of rock paintings near the entrance, from people, animals and boats to hand stencils that a 2026 study dated as very old, though that dating is debated.
All 6 caves
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goa Labungkari (Muna)Sidemount · Full cave | – | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Goa Loba-Loba (Lakudo)Backmount · Cavern | 27 m | Backmount | Cavern |
| Goa Teluk Lasongko (Muna)Sidemount · Full cave | – | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Laulawi (Muna)Sidemount · Full cave | – | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Oe Mamba (Muna)Sidemount · Full cave | 75 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Stadsgrot van Baubau (Baubau city cave)Backmount · Intro to cave | – | Backmount | Intro to cave |
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.
Dive centres and fill stations
1 dive centres, fill stations and instructors
Sulawesi Dive Trek (Baubau)
Baubau, Buton
Air, oxygen and helium for trimix (helium subject to availability); a portable compressor for remote trips
With the tours
Training: Cavern, Intro to cave, Full cave, Sidemount, CCR · IANTD, RAID, TDI
Guided dives: Laulawi (Muna), Oe Mamba (Muna), Goa Labungkari (Muna), Goa Teluk Lasongko (Muna), Stadsgrot van Baubau (Baubau city cave), Goa Loba-Loba (Lakudo)
Rental: Equipment on site; bailout cylinders on CCR tours
Cave diving centre of Robin Cuesta (IANTD/TDI full cave instructor), by its own account the first dive centre in Indonesia to offer technical cave training. Tours from Baubau (city cave) and Muna (deep and complex caves), and also in Wakatobi; cylinders, gas and weights included, deco gas extra. For rebreathers oxygen, diluent and sorb (Sofnolime or Intersorb, subject to availability); a booster is not mentioned. Courses IANTD (Cavern to Technical Cave, Stage, Survey and Mapping) and RAID (Cavern, Cave 1 and 2), sidemount and Triton CCR. Prices on the site: open circuit EUR 250 and CCR EUR 300 a day; the travel information dates from July 2023, so ask for current ones.
Order: partners first, clearly marked as partner; then dive centres by distance from Baubau and independent instructors by name. Not a recommendation: check what they offer yourself.
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Find a place near Baubau
Villages that work well as a base for the caves in this region. Find a place for your team:
- BaubauBooking.com ↗
The links to Booking.com are affiliate links: if you book through one, DiveTripPlanner earns a small commission. You pay the same.
Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers
Emergencies
- 112 (general), 118/119 (ambulance); DAN Asia-Pacific +61 3 9886 9166. No chamber found on Buton or Muna: ask the operator about the evacuation plan.
Access and rules
- Permission: the caves on Muna are the villages' drinking water sources (at Laulawi the village pumps its water) and the operator works with the village elders. No formal government permit is published; go through the operator.
Gas and fills
- Gas: Sulawesi Dive Trek has air, medical oxygen and helium for trimix (helium subject to availability) and takes a portable compressor on remote trips; rebreather sorb only subject to availability. Nitrox and a booster are not mentioned: ask.
Water and season
- Water: ~26 °C all year, by the operator's account crystal clear with almost no flow. Most caves are shallower than 20 m; fracture caves go to 40–50 m and some sinkholes to ~60 m. Oe Mamba has a hydrogen sulphide layer.
- Season: no source names one; the operator speaks of tropical weather all year.
Getting around
- Travel: Betoambari airport (BUW) in Baubau, with daily flights from Makassar; also PELNI ships from Bali (~3 days); to Muna by a short ferry. Some caves need rope technique (SRT) and hours of walking.
Good to know
- Read this first: Buton and neighbouring Muna (Southeast Sulawesi) are the only place in Indonesia with organised cave diving. Everything goes through Sulawesi Dive Trek in Baubau; without them you won't find the entrances and have no gas on Muna. Many caves have been known only for a short time and are partly mapped.
- Also here: Rock N Roll Divers in Baubau (SSI) hosted a GUE survey team in April 2024; Wakatobi (Wangi-Wangi, Tomia) also has caves with the same operator.
News
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