Kota Belud · Malaysia · Reef · Pelagic & blue water
Purple Reef
Pinkish purple soft coral with dorado and wahoo passing
Purple Reef lies further out towards the open ocean than the other Kota Belud reefs, 45 minutes by boat. Pinkish purple soft coral covers the reef, visibility is excellent, and pelagic fish such as dorado, wahoo and tuna pass along with reef life.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Kota Belud and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The dive starts at 18 m and the reef continues to 40 m, all of it covered in pinkish purple soft coral. Visibility often reaches 30 to 50 m out here. Nudibranchs, small sharks, moray eels and cephalopods live on the reef, while dorado, wahoo and tuna pass by in the open water off it.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Tuna
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Kota Belud: Boats run all year when the weather allows; February to July is the best stretch, and from October to December rough seas can cancel trips.
Sources
- Diving Kota Belud & Mantanani Island (Wayback) — Bigfin Divers
More dive sites in Kota Belud
Reef
Schooling barracuda in a sandy channel, cuttlefish in the boulders
Reef
Schools of young fish sheltering in black coral trees
Pinnacle
Bamboo and cat sharks asleep in the crevices of a pinnacle
Reef
Leopard sharks and marble rays resting in the sand between giant boulders
Drift
A gentle drift north over table, brain and staghorn corals
Reef
Hairy frogfish hiding on the sand of a shallow shoal
Reef
Bobtail and pygmy squid on night dives around a tiny island
Wreck
Giant groupers living under the scrap of three salvaged WW2 ships
Similar dives elsewhere
Schooling barracuda and trevally when a current is running
Skipjack tuna running the ledges, with whale sharks behind them
Hard coral grown over lava that reached the sea in 1988.
Four hectares of shallow cleaning station in the pass