Donsol & Ticao Pass · Philippines · Reef · Pelagic & blue water
Manta Bowl
Four hectares of shallow cleaning station in the pass
Area photo: AwOiSoAk KaOsIoWa · CC BY-SA 3.0
A bowl-shaped depression roughly four hectares across in Ticao Pass, shallow enough to spend a whole dive at 20 metres and swept by strong current. Mantas come in to the cleaning stations to be worked over by cleaner wrasse, and whale sharks, hammerheads and threshers turn up alongside them.
Where it is and how deep
12.5660° N, 123.8520° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The Bowl is a depression about four hectares across, and the dive is spent inside it rather than travelling anywhere. Depths run to a maximum of 22 metres, with the working level around 20, so bottom time is limited by current and gas rather than by depth. The current is strong and the site is reserved for intermediate divers and up.
What you do here is hold a position and watch. The mantas come in to the cleaning stations and are attended to by cleaner wrasse, circling slowly while they are worked over, and the flow across the shoal is part of why they use the site at all. Keep off them: touching removes the protective coating on their skin and leaves them open to infection, so hold your distance and let the animals decide how close the encounter gets.
This is also the part of the pass with the most sightings of whale sharks, with hammerheads and threshers turning up occasionally rather than reliably. The site is only diveable between December and June, though the mantas themselves are present through the year, so a trip planned outside that window will be pointed at other sites in the pass.
Marine life and season
- Manta rays
- Whale sharks
- Hammerheads
- Thresher sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Good |
Diveable only between December and June; the mantas are here all year, but the site is not workable outside that window.
Know before you go
- Strong current across an open shoal — the site is dived by intermediate divers and up, not as a relaxed shallow reef.
- Do not touch the mantas: contact removes their protective coating and leaves them open to infections.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Manta Bowl?+
The maximum depth is 22 metres and most of the dive is spent around 20 metres, inside a bowl-shaped depression roughly four hectares across.
When can you dive Manta Bowl?+
The site is only diveable between December and June. The mantas are present all year, but conditions outside that window make the shoal unworkable.
Sources
- From Manta Bowl Shoal To Sweetlips Rock: Diving Five Of Luzon's Best Donsol Dive Sites — Just Gotta Dive
- Diving in Donsol and Ticao — Thresher Shark Divers
- Donsol — Wikipedia
More dive sites in Donsol & Ticao Pass
Wall
Overhangs and ledges worked at macro range
Reef
A steep face with frogfish on it and tuna off it
Reef
Squid and cuttlefish eggs wedged between the rocks
Cave & cavern
A half-drowned cavern where two currents meet
Reef
Rock cover that puts you close to passing mantas
Reef
Whitetips lying up between boulders on white sand
Pinnacle
A mushroom rock you can circle in one dive
Reef
Limestone swim-throughs off a white sand beach
Similar dives elsewhere
Schooling barracuda and trevally when a current is running
Giant manta rays over an offshore bank, 16 m at its deepest
Shallow cleaning stations that mantas work from October to April
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A manta cleaning station in 15 metres under limestone cliffs