Malapascua Island's

The Best of Philippines Diving

Malapascua Dive Sites

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Malapascua has a great variety of dive sites - from amazing coral to sandy muck dives, to wall diving. Because the diving is very varied with many different influences there is a great variety of marine life. All our dive sites have excellent macro, so there is always plenty to see. Some divers have rated Malapascua's dive spots as some of the world's best diving sites.

Monad Shoal/Shark Point     26m+ / 80ft+

Monad Shoal is an underwater island on the edge of a 200m drop off, and is famous as the only place in the world where thresher sharks can be seen everyday. Manta rays have become a common sight over the last year. The shoal also attracts other pelagics such as devil rays and eagle rays. Manta rays and hammerheads are seasonal. Monad Shoal is perfect for Nitrox. Find out more about Monad Shoal and its threshers. Please note that this is a slightly more advanced dive site.

Gato Island    24m / 80ft

Gato Island is one of our most famous dive sites. Gato is a marine reserve and sea snake sanctuary. It has at least five dive sites with a huge diversity of marine life. We are constantly seeing new creatures. At all sites you can see such things as banded sea snakes, cuttlefish (often while mating), seahorses, nudibranchs, frogfish, moray eels, scorpion fish, squid and big-mouthed mackerel. There are many whitetip sharks in residence at Gato, as well as bamboo and cat sharks. The coral is in good condition and the rocky island has many interesting underwater rock formations, overhangs, and swim-throughs.

Gato: Whitetip Alley   20m / 70ft

You are 95% guaranteed to find whitetip sharks sleeping under rocks, and if you are lucky you will see them circling. Other life here includes banded boxer shrimp, crinoid cuttlefish, seahorses and scorpion fish.

Gato: The Guardhouse   24m / 80ft

Drop down to 24m to find the extremely rare pygmy seahorse, both pink and yellow. Then work your way back along a wall where you can find lionfish and many nudibranchs, including the beautiful spanish dancers, up to 30cm long. A painted frogfish is currently in residence.

Gato: Nudibranch City   22m / 75ft

As the name implies, we find nudibranchs galore at this site. Also around are lots of hermit crabs and scorpion fish.

Gato: The Cave   10m / 35ft

Or more accurately, "The Tunnel". Journey underneath Gato Island and come out the other side! This 30m tunnel houses all the usual cave dwellers like crabs and lobsters. You should also encounter some large puffer fish. Most of exciting of all, the cave is home to whitetip sharks! You may see them hiding in a corner as you pass by inches from their face, or see their silhouette as they circle near the exit. If you are careful and move slowly, they will swim straight by your face. The sight is simply breathtaking. Not for the faint of heart. For experienced divers only.

Gato: Cathedral    22m / 75ft

Explore some of the more amazing rock formations around Gato, including the stunning Cathedral rock. This is a great place to see sharks - we have seen as many as 15 whitetips circling. It is also possible to see blue-spotted rays.

Lighthouse   10m / 35ft

There are few places in the world where you can see mandarinfish. And even better, in Malapascua, Thresher Diver's famous "Randy Mandy" dive experiences mating mandarinfish in their full glory! In the late afternoon we dive Lighthouse, where the rare and psychedelic mandarin fish are virtually guaranteed. Dusk is a time most people rarely dive. However, it is one of the best times to observe marine life because of the increased feeding and mating activity. Come and see the exotic mating dance of the male and his adoring females. At full moon we also see coral spawning as well as other marine life mating. We regularly see seahorses, scribbled and banded pipefish, juvenile sweetlips, banded sea snakes, hermit crabs, and many varieties of shrimp. As day turns into night you should start to catch some interesting nudibranchs and a variety of cephalopods - reef squid, bobtail squid, starry night octopus, the occasional blue-ringed octopus and cuttlefish. Also near this sight is a World War II wreck.

Lapus Lapus    18m / 60ft

Lapus Lapus Island has some of the most spectacular coral growth we have ever seen. There is a huge variety of soft and hard coral, in pristine condition. Other marine life includes frogfish, various sweetlips, cuttlefish and lionfish. There are many nudis, several varieties of commensal shrimp and also porcelain crabs. A great macro site. If you are lucky, you will see the giant octopus that lives here!

Chocolate Island    16m / 55ft

Chocolate Island is a beautiful shallow dive site and a macro photographer’s delight. The healthy coral is home to a large variety of life: sea snakes, snake eels, moray eels, cuttlefish (including flamboyants), seamoths/dragonfish/Pegasus and juvenile batfish. Macro includes nudibranchs, flatworms, shrimp, shells and cowries.

North Point    22m / 60ft

Beautiful soft coral and varied marine life including frogfish of different colors, fire urchin hikers, and nudibranchs. Great macro.

North Wall    24m / 60ft

This is a short wall at 24m, about 10m long by 6m high. Its nooks and crannies hide a wide variety of life. After investigating the wall, swim out from the wall into a sandy area which is home to a field of sea pens and many other critters, then let yourself get taken by the current on an amazing drift dive.

Ka Osting

This is a great muck dive. Find all kinds of unusual creatures. Fire urchins, zebra crabs, dwarf lionfish, and almost guaranteed smashing mantis shrimp are some of the inhabitants of this shallow reef that turns into a sandy bottom between 12-16m. Did you know that seastars are actually very aggressive creatures? Watch the horny seastars race full speed in pursuit of Ka Osting's unusual species of sea urchin.

Kimud Shoal     40m+ / 130ft+

Sunken Island is a fairly small shoal. Almost circular, it is possible to swim all the way around the edge in one dive. The top of the island lies at 12-16m, and the steep sides drop off to 200m+. It is near to Monad Shoal so we often see thresher sharks, mantas and devil rays. Turtles are occasional visitors. The top of the island has a lot of hard coral, and many excellent hiding spots for moray eels. The sides are covered in soft coral growth. Many species of shrimp can be found among the corals and several species of unusual nudibranchs. The east side is especially interesting for its rock formations and overhangs. Because of the drop off, at any point on the island there is the chance of seeing pelagics such as sharks, rays and tuna. Recently spotted here - a school of 50 hammerheads.

Nunez Shoal    40m+ / 130ft+

A stunning wall dive, Nunez Shoal hosts a wide variety of life. Look out into the blue for pelagics such as eagle rays and sharks, and along the wall you can spot white eyed and snowflake moray eels, lionfish, scorpion, and rare nudibranchs galore among the giant sea fans and sponges. Visibility can be around 30m and there are big schools of small fish. Nunez shoal is on the edge of a drop off to almost 1km, so expect the unexpected!

Calanggaman Island    40m+ / 130ft+

Calanggaman Island is the picture postcard desert island. Sometimes we will stop on the island for a beach barbeque during our surface interval. Palm trees and a pile of white sand surrounded by crystal clear water and steep walls dropping off into the blue. Vis is usually good and fish life is plentiful. Drop down the walls which are covered in hard corals and gorgonian fans and inhabited by many varieties of fish. Look for pelagics out in the blue, or unusual fish like clown triggers on the wall. You can also see many critters including nudibranchs, crabs and shrimp. As you come back along the top of the wall, look for fields of nudibranchs and garden eels. Dolphins are often seen on the way back.

The East Side    10m / 35ft

A side of Malapascua Island that is sometimes sheltered when the rest is not, this is a pretty dive site. The hard coral is in great condition and there is a good variety of marine life: dwarf lionfish, nudibranchs, squid.

The Sand Patch    10m / 35ft

Search through the sea grass and the sandy patches on the east side of the island to find an amazing variety of life. There is plenty to see here including moray eels, lionfish, crabs and many other bottom dwellers

Twins    10m / 35ft

Off the north of Malapascua, Twins is an easy, shallow dive site covered in soft leather corals. There are some interesting rock formations and good macro life.

House Reef    6m / 20ft

Our house reef is great for beginners, especially those wanting to make their first dives. Among the hard coral there is an abundance of marine life, including pufferfish, lionfish, nudibranchs, sea snakes, and moray eels.

Maria’s Point    18m / 60ft

Great diving because of the strong currents here. Clear waters, good corals and an excellent variety of life. For advanced divers only.

Buhoc Point   30m / 100ft

Buhoc Point is a site off North Leyte rarely visited by divers. The pristine corals slope down to a sandy bottom where you are sure to spot some blue spotted rays if you move slowly! A variety of other marine life can be seen here

Maripipi   30m / 100ft

Another rarely visited dives site, Maripipi has everything you could want in a dive site: excellent corals and plentiful fish life including sharks and rays. We dive here on a minimum 2 day dive safari.

Manok-Manok (Chicken Curry Island)     15m/45ft

A nice relaxed dive among beautiful pastel multi-colored soft tree corals.

Shore Diving       5m/15ft

Shore diving is limited but possible. It is very shallow off the main beach, and you will have to swim out for 200m to get even 3m. However, there are some good tings to see. The first 100m is mostly sea grass, but it hides beautiful starfish, puffers, pipefish, nudibranchs and is the schooling ground for many juveniles. The sea grass turns into hard coral, home to schools of cardinalfish, damselfish and sergeant majors. Look carefully and you can find lionfish and moray eels. Occasionally seen are blue-ringed octopus and eagle rays. You must do this dive with a float or SMB above you at all times.

Wrecks

From beginner to technical diver, Malapascua has a wreck for you! If you've heard that Coron is the only place in the Philippines with good wreck diving, think again!

Lighthouse Wreck    5m / 15ft

The wreck at Lighthouse was a Japanese World War II landing craft. It was bombed just before landing with a large shipment of cement destined for a gun emplacement. The wreck is in very shallow water - 3m average - and is broken up with the hull in two pieces. The rocks that you will see are actually bags of cement! Things that you can see around the wreck include yellow-tailed barracuda, hermit crabs, octopus, pipefish, juvenile harlequin sweetlips, and banded sea snakes. Nearby is Lighthouse West - easily reached from the wreck to see abundant mandarinfish and seahorses.

Dona Marilyn Wreck    18m-32m / 60ft-110ft

At almost 100m long, the Dona Marilyn was a Cebu-Manila passenger ferry that sank in a typhoon 20 years ago. It was a huge disaster and many people lost their lives. It is now lying on its starboard side, amazingly still all in one piece. Marble rays, blue-spotted rays and whitetip sharks live under the bow and eagle rays and devil rays sometimes pass through. The wreck is covered in a healthy growth of soft coral, and the fish that live there grow to a large size. Several varieties of sweetlips grow bigger here than at any of our other dive sites and the juveniles are often seen. Large cuttlefish and scorpionfish are common as well as nudibranchs and flatworms. A giant moray eel is living in the wreck. You can also see many of the beautiful purple fire sea urchins around, accompanied by their resident zebra crabs and Coleman's shrimp. Penetration is possible for qualified divers. There is lots to see inside as it has remained unsalvaged. The photo above shows a similar ferry today.

Tapilon Wreck    22m-28m / 70ft-90ft

A World War II Japanese cargo carrier, the wreck at Tapilon was hit by torpedoes. It now lies in several sections, though is still recognizable as a boat. There is an abundance of life on this wreck and it is covered in beautiful soft coral. Swirling around it are thousands of small barracuda - an incredible sight. This wreck is worth diving for the barracuda alone! There are also many species of flat worms, nudibranchs, moray eels, cuttlefish, squid, and scorpion fish. Huge marble rays are sometimes seen, as well as the fire sea urchin and its accompanying urchin crab and Coleman's shrimp. Sometimes we have several ornate ghost pipefish and frogfish in residence.

MV Asia Wreck    26m / 85ft

MV Asia is a great wreck for penetration as the decks are so open and it is relatively safe. The wreck sank several years ago and lies on its side with one prop still on the boat. A must for wreck lovers.

Pioneer Wreck    42m- 54m / 140ft-170ft

Because it is so deep, this Japanese World War II wreck is still in great condition. It was a gunboat in the war, and as you descend, you will see the guns pointing upwards towards you! It is about 60m long, in the upright position and still mostly in one piece. There is a torpedo hit on on the stern but the prop is still remaining. The wreck has plentiful fish life including sharks, rays, barracuda and groupers. This is a deep dive and is for those trained in decompression diving only. Only diveable on a few days of the month.

Malapascua Dive Sites Map

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