Apo Island · Philippines · Wall · Cave & cavern
The Chapel
A wall of overhangs and caverns with its foot at about 30 m
Photo: Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0
The Chapel is a wall dive on Apo Island, named after the house of worship on the shore nearby. The dive opens on shallow coral and sand, then crosses to where the reef drops away into a wall riddled with overhangs and small caverns, its foot at about 30 metres. Black and white snappers gather along the face alongside barracuda and dogtooth tuna.
Also known as Chapel Reef.
Where it is and how deep
9.0765° N, 123.2665° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive starts shallow, descending onto a patch of coral and sand, and works out to the point where the reef drops away into the wall. From there you follow the face, which is broken by overhangs and small caverns the whole way along, with its foot at about 30 metres. That depth sets the shape of the dive: most groups spend the first half low along the undercuts and finish shallow on the upper wall.
Black and white snappers gather along the wall alongside barracuda and dogtooth tuna, and reef fish, some of them in schools, work the face the whole way. Leaf fish and nudibranchs are the small finds, spotted on the wall itself rather than out in the open, and sea snakes and bumphead parrotfish are regular sightings among the rest of the fish. Some of the caverns are big enough to swim into, which is where the fin control matters.
Marine life and season
- Sea snakes
- Tuna
- Barracuda
- Reef fish swarms
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Apo Island: Dived year-round; April and May give the calmest crossings, and the December–February trade winds can chop up the open crossing and the exposed points.
Know before you go
- Depth creeps on a wall with no bottom in sight; the foot is at about 30 metres, so set a maximum before entry and watch gas through the deep half of the dive.
- The caverns need you to duck your head and hold your fin kicks still; divers without that control should stay outside them and work the open face instead.
- Currents around Apo run from gentle to strong depending on the site and the tide, and none is published for this wall, so take the boatman's read and agree a pick-up plan before entry.
Photos from The Chapel
Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0
Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0
Questions divers ask
How deep is The Chapel at Apo Island?+
The foot of the wall sits at about 30 metres. The dive is normally run as a deep first half along the overhangs, finishing shallow on the upper part of the face.
What do you see at The Chapel?+
Black and white snappers gathered on the wall with barracuda and dogtooth tuna, leaf fish and nudibranchs on the face itself, and sea snakes and bumphead parrotfish among the reef fish.
Sources
- Diving Dumaguete & Apo Island, Philippines — Dive The World
- Chapel Reef — Scubago (SSI MyDiveGuide)
Photo credits
- A semicircle angelfish with a blue-rimmed yellow body swims over the reef near Dauin. by Elias Levy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A reef lizardfish rests camouflaged on the sandy bottom near the reef. by Elias Levy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A red-spotted reticulated nudibranch crawls over the reef near Dauin. by Elias Levy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Apo Island
A no-take reef since 1982, with turtles on nearly every dive
Coral gardens on a gentle slope, with the best of the reef above 18 m
A reef finger on the island's southeast corner, fed by the prevailing current
Frogfish and cuttlefish in the island's densest hard coral
Similar dives elsewhere
Caves in a coral wall where whitetips rest up
Sanctuary wall from 3 m to 40 m with sea fan forests
A hundred metres of coral wall from 5 m to 60
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Shafts of light in a cracked cavern on the north wall