Camiguin · Philippines · Coral garden
White Island Old Sanctuary
Hard coral garden off White Island, 16 m up to 5 m
Area photo: Kleomarlo · CC BY-SA 3.0
An extensive hard coral garden off White Island, running from 16 m up to 5 m on a gentle grade. Nothing about it is demanding, which is why the operators put every level of diver on it. Snappers, sweetlips, banner fish and sea snakes are on the reef every dive, and green turtles and barracuda come through often.
Where it is and how deep
9.2704° N, 124.6602° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site sits offshore of White Island, a short boat run onto a coral garden that begins at 16 m and slopes gently up to 5 m. The natural way to dive it is to drop on the deep edge and let the grade do the ascent for you: by the time you have worked across the garden you are already shallow, and the safety stop happens over coral instead of over open water.
The reef fish are the constant here. Schooling snappers, sweetlips and banner fish are recorded on every dive, and sea snakes are as regular a sight; keep a metre back off the coral and keep your hands off it. Green turtles and barracuda visit often enough to expect them without counting on them, which leaves the garden itself as the reason to book the dive.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Sea snakes
- Sea turtles
- Barracuda
- Pristine corals
| 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.
Sources
- White Island Old Sanctuary - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Camiguin
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Shore-entry slope with a lettuce coral reef from 21 m
Current-swept offshore slope under soft coral, 5 to 25 m
Wall
Offshore shoal edge dropping past 60 m, cut with overhangs
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
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