Camiguin · Philippines · Wall · Reef
Jicdup Wall
Offshore shoal edge dropping past 60 m, cut with overhangs
Area photo: Kleomarlo · CC BY-SA 3.0
Jicdup is an offshore shoal about twenty minutes out from the Camiguin coast, a reef of 300 by 200 m rising to 3 m below the surface. The Wall is its south-western edge, dropping past 60 m and cut with overhangs. Fusiliers and other schooling fish move along the face, anemones on the wall hold clownfish, and tuna pass by out in the blue.
Where it is and how deep
9.2611° N, 124.7778° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The boat runs about twenty minutes off the coast into open ocean to reach the shoal, a reef 300 by 200 m whose top comes up to 3 m. The Wall is on the south-western side of it. You drop onto the shallow reef and swim out to the edge, where the ground ends and the face falls away past 60 m — deeper than the dive goes, so pick a working depth and stay on it.
The face is not plain rock. Overhangs are cut into it at intervals and they are the reason to go slowly, since they hold the shade and the life. Anemones grow across the wall with clownfish in them, and fusiliers and other schooling fish move along beside you for much of the dive. Off the edge, out in the blue, tuna pass through.
Being this far offshore shapes the dive as much as the depth does: it is open ocean with no shelter, and the plan assumes you come back up onto the shallow reef rather than in open water. The 3 m top of the shoal makes a generous safety stop, and it is worth spending the end of the tank up there rather than staying on the wall until your gas says otherwise.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Tuna
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Camiguin: Nov–Apr is the dry, settled run; May–Oct rain is heavy but short and rarely stops diving, and the small typhoon risk falls in Sep–Oct.
Know before you go
- The shoal is twenty minutes offshore in open ocean, so surfacing away from the reef means surfacing away from the boat; carry an SMB and end the dive on the shallow top.
Sources
- Jicdup Wall - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Camiguin
Sand slope
Shore-entry slope with a lettuce coral reef from 21 m
Current-swept offshore slope under soft coral, 5 to 25 m
Coral garden
Hard coral garden with a 20 m maximum and frequent sea snakes
Green turtles resident year-round on a 5-to-50 m drop-off
Wall
Volcanic cliff from 5 m and dropping past 60 m
Reef
Soft-coral slope from 2 m to 30 m beside the volcano wall
Reef
Coral-covered tombs at 6 m under a white concrete cross
Reef
The island's Deep Diver training reef, 5 m to 40 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Giant gorgonian fans on a wall from 5 m to 60
The Great Wall of Cornucopia, a sheer drop-off at the end of the slope
A coral wall running from a 5 m shallow top down to 55 m
A 6 m almond-shaped swim-through at 26-30 metres.