Donsol & Ticao Pass · Philippines · Cave & cavern · Reef
Parola
A half-drowned cavern where two currents meet
Area photo: AwOiSoAk KaOsIoWa · CC BY-SA 3.0
A cavern at the northern tip of San Miguel Island, half submerged and half above water, with the dry half occupied by bats and swiftlets. Underwater the dive runs to about 20 metres through a series of ledges, at a point where currents meet and sharks and rays ride past.
Also known as Lighthouse, Lighthouse Cove.
Where it is and how deep
12.7180° N, 123.5876° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The feature above water is the cavern itself: half the formation is submerged and half stands above the surface, with the dry part home to numerous bats and swiftlets. The dive works the submerged half, at the tip of San Miguel Island in the north of Ticao, about 45 minutes by boat from the Manta Bowl shoal.
Underwater the dive runs to about 20 metres and is built around ledges. You move through them at different depths, which gives changing views of the reef, the open water and the surface above you, and different life at each level. The site sits at the tip of the island where the currents meet, so what passes is not predictable from one dive to the next.
That meeting of currents is also the point of diving here: expect moderate to strong flow, and sharks and rays surfing along it. Plan the profile so the shallow ledges are the end of the dive rather than the start, and treat the stronger days as drift dives with a boat following rather than as a fixed circuit.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Donsol & Ticao Pass: Whale sharks are in Donsol Nov–Jun, peaking Feb–May; manta activity at the Bowl follows a similar window before typhoon season.
Know before you go
- Currents meet at the tip of the island and can build from moderate to strong: brief a drift pick-up before entering.
Sources
- Parola/Lighthouse — Scubago
- Diving in Donsol and Ticao — Thresher Shark Divers
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
Reef
Four hectares of shallow cleaning station in the pass
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
A roughly 40 m tunnel lit by holes in its ceiling.
A 30 m swim-through tunnel at 10 m with sharks resting inside
Boulders and rock formations cut with numerous swim-throughs.
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A rock gate onto an 18 m plateau with two standing towers