Black Forest is a sloping section of Balicasag's reef named for the black corals - Antipathes - that proliferate on its deeper parts. It is usually run as a drift and begins over a sandy area scattered with coral heads. Turtles, anthias and anemonefish hold on the reef, while jacks, blue-dash fusiliers and red-toothed triggerfish school out in the blue.
Where it is and how deep
9.5148° N, 123.6889° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site is usually experienced as a drift, so the current sets the route rather than a fixed plan: you drop in and let it carry you along the reef. It starts over a sandy area with a number of coral heads on it, and from there the reef slopes away. The name is literal - black corals, Antipathes, proliferate on the deeper sections, so the site changes character with depth. Balicasag's slopes are published as running from the surface to more than 40 m, so agree a maximum before you get in.
Two things share the water. On the reef itself sit the residents: anthias, damsels, anemonefish, scorpionfish, and the turtles Balicasag is dived for. Out in the blue there are schools - jacks, blue-dash fusiliers and red-toothed triggerfish - which is where the wide-angle photography happens. Because the drift does the work, finish shallow on the reef top rather than swimming back along the face.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Balicasag: Nov–Jun gives the calmest crossings; the south-west monsoon and typhoons make Jul–Oct unreliable and can close the exposed sides.
Know before you go
- Titan triggerfish guard nests here in May, June and July and turn aggressive over them - back off horizontally from a fish that squares up rather than swimming over the nest.
Dive videos
UNCUT 50-Min DIVE: Black Forest, Balicasag Island (Panglao) | Real-Time Scuba Immersion · Talk to the Fish on YouTube
Bohol dive site Balicasag "BLACK FOREST" scuba diving look around!! 360° VR · UnderWater 360 on YouTube
Black Forest Dive - Balicasag Island, Panglao Bohol Philippines · Arvin Eugenio on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Black Forest?+
Sierra Madre Divers publish it as 25–40 m: the black corals the site is named for grow on the deeper part of the slope, which is where the dive spends its bottom time. Agree the maximum with your guide before you get in.
What will I see at Black Forest?+
Anthias, damsels, anemonefish and scorpionfish on the reef, turtles, and schools of jacks, blue-dash fusiliers and red-toothed triggerfish in the blue. The black corals the site is named for grow on the deeper sections.
Sources
- Your Guide to Diving in Bohol — Dive The World
- Dive Sites Of Balicasag Island — Sierra Madre Divers
- Dive Sites & Map Of Bohol — Sierra Madre Divers
- Dive sites of Panglao, Alona beach, Balicasag, Pamilacan, Cabilao — Tropical Divers Alona
- Diving in the Philippines — Wikivoyage
- Black Forest — Scubago
Photo credits
- A green Nembrotha nudibranch crossing coral rubble at Black Forest, Balicasag by q.phia, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
In The Logbook
- What stings you underwater, and how to avoid itBody & health · 8 min read
More dive sites in Balicasag
The protected shallows where Balicasag's turtles are thickest
Wall
Shafts of light in a cracked cavern on the north wall
Gorgonians, overhangs, and turtles of both local species
Coral garden
A coral plateau at 18 m, swarmed by fish and turtles
Wall
The outcrop on the drop where the jacks and barracuda gather
Similar dives elsewhere
A drifted wall under a 200-year-old Spanish watchtower
Juvenile whitetips tucked into small caves along a drifting slope
A hard drift off the point, with tuna and barracuda in the flow
A drift from schooling fish on the point to macro on the slope