Coral Triangle · Malaysia
Layang-Layang
Scalloped hammerheads school along a wall that drops 2,000 m
Photo: matthew lee · CC BY 2.0
Layang-Layang, also known as Swallow Reef, is an oceanic atoll in the Spratly Islands about 300 km north-west of Kota Kinabalu, administered by Malaysia and home to a naval station. Its outer walls fall into about 2,000 m of water, and scalloped hammerheads school off them in April and May. The atoll has been closed to divers since January 2025. That month its only resort had its licence revoked, and no reopening has been announced.
About diving in Layang-Layang
Layang-Layang is closed to tourism. Divers stopped coming during the Covid-19 lockdowns, the atoll's single resort said in November 2023 that it could not operate without a licence, and Malaysia's tourism ministry revoked its operating licence in January 2025. No liveaboards regularly make the trip out, and no reopening has been announced. When the resort ran, guests flew in on a charter from Kota Kinabalu, dived three times a day from boats that reached any of the dozen or so sites in 5 to 15 minutes, and found nothing else on the island to fill the time.
The atoll is a ring of reef about 7 km long and 2 km wide around a shallow lagoon, and almost all the diving is on the outside of that rim, where the walls drop into about 2,000 m of water. Sites differ in aspect more than structure. Corners and points such as The Point and Gorgonian Forest are where current concentrates and hammerhead schools pass, D-Wall is one of the few truly vertical faces and overhangs for much of the dive, and Wrasse Strip stays over reef at 10 to 25 m. Visibility often exceeds 40 m, and the reefs, sheltered from fishing by the naval presence, are counted among the healthiest in Malaysia.
The signature dive was less a site than a routine: drop onto the wall at a corner, swim out into the blue at 30 to 35 m for five to ten minutes watching for hammerheads, then spend the rest of the dive ascending slowly along the reef. The schools, sometimes hundreds strong, usually stay away from the reef, so sightings rewarded patience, and even ten days in season did not guarantee one. Trevally, barracuda and dogtooth tuna worked the same edge far more dependably, while mantas, thresher sharks and whale sharks turned up by luck.
It was diving for experienced divers. The walls give no bottom reference, the clear water makes it easy to sink deeper than planned, there is no decompression chamber on the atoll, and the resort capped dives at 40 m with no decompression stops and air only. While Layang-Layang stays closed, the nearest match for walls and big fish in Malaysian Borneo is Sipadan, off Semporna.
When Layang-Layang was dived
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Off-season | Off-season | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season |
| Sea surface | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | 200 mm7.9 in | 71 mm2.8 in | 62 mm2.4 in | 67 mm2.6 in | 117 mm4.6 in | 226 mm8.9 in | 233 mm9.2 in | 177 mm7.0 in | 231 mm9.1 in | 223 mm8.8 in | 238 mm9.4 in | 305 mm12.0 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 200 mm7.9 in | 71 mm2.8 in | 62 mm2.4 in | 67 mm2.6 in | 117 mm4.6 in | 226 mm8.9 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 233 mm9.2 in | 177 mm7.0 in | 231 mm9.1 in | 223 mm8.8 in | 238 mm9.4 in | 305 mm12.0 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
No diving has been possible since January 2025, when Malaysia's tourism ministry revoked the licence of the atoll's only resort; the season below describes the pattern while it operated. The resort opened from March to August and closed from September to February, when heavy monsoon rain makes diving on the atoll impossible. March to May was the best stretch, with visibility usually 20 to 40 m or more, water in the high 20s and scalloped hammerheads a common sighting, the schools gathering to mate in April and May. From June to August the hammerheads thinned out, and sharks, trevally, barracuda and dogtooth tuna carried the diving. The sea outside the lagoon can pick up at any time, so surfacing into bigger waves than at the start of a dive was common.
Layang-Layang water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface stays between 28 and 30 °C (82–86 °F) all year. Most rain falls from September to January, peaking at about 310 mm (12 in) in December; February to April are the driest. Daytime highs sit around 29 °C (84 °F) all year. The coldest water here is about 27 °C (81 °F), so pack a 3 mm, or even a 2 mm, suit.
Dive types & marine life
Scalloped hammerheads gather in the deep water around the atoll to mate in April and May, when schools of hundreds have been recorded; sightings outside that window are possible but rarer. Grey reef and whitetip sharks, big-eye trevally, barracuda and dogtooth tuna are the dependable life, with pygmy seahorses on the gorgonians. Mantas, thresher sharks and whale sharks are chance encounters.
- Wall
- Reef
- Pelagic & blue water
- Drift
- Coral garden
- Hammerheads
- Reef sharks
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
- Sea turtles
- Manta rays
- Napoleon wrasse
- Tuna
- Pristine corals
- Dolphins
Best dive sites in Layang-Layang
- 1
Gorgonian Forest
Wall from 15 m with fans to 40 m; often called the atoll's signature site and a main hammerhead area.
- 2
The Point
Eastern point where divers leave the reef at 30 to 35 m to watch the blue for hammerhead schools.
- 3
Shark's Cave
Undercut in the wall at about 25 m where whitetip reef sharks rest; one of the best-known dives.
- 4
D-Wall
One of the atoll's few truly vertical faces, overhanging much of the way, with a shelf at 40 m.
- 5
Navigator Lane
Long, deep wall on the north side where hammerheads are regular visitors in season.
- 6
Dogtooth Lair
Drop-off near the eastern point named for its shoals of dogtooth tuna, with barracuda.
- 7
Wrasse Strip
Shallow reef at 10 to 25 m that works as a cleaning station for sharks, turtles and rays.
Site guides
Wall
Pygmy seahorses in the sea fans on the north wall
Wall
A vertical face into 2,000 m, with pygmy seahorses in the fans
Wall
Shoals of dogtooth tuna on a wall that drops to 2,000 m
Wall
A northern wall from 15 to 40 m where current draws the big fish
Wall
A long northern wall with hammerheads in the current below
Wall
An undercut at 25 m where reef sharks rest through the day
Reef
Drift the ledge in around 50 m of visibility
Wall
Leave the reef at 30-35 m and watch open water for hammerheads
Wall
Hundreds of hammerheads in the blue in April and May
Reef
A 15 m crack in the wall, dived for critters and at night
Reef
Hundreds of hammerheads pass here in April and May
A cleaning station worked by reef sharks, turtles and mantas
Reef
Black coral, sea fans and barrel sponges over a debris field
How to get to Layang-Layang
There is currently no way to visit. When the resort operated, the only civilian route was a one-hour charter flight from Kota Kinabalu to the atoll's airstrip, flown only during the March-to-August season and booked with the dive package. The rest of the island is a naval station, and the jetty sits inside the lagoon.
Photos from Layang-Layang
matthew lee · CC BY 2.0
matthew lee · CC BY 2.0
matthew lee · CC BY 2.0
matthew lee · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Hunting for Hammerheads: Layang Layang [HD] | Borneo from Below (S01E29) · SZtv on YouTube
Diving Layang Layang, Sabah, Malaysia · Steve Colligan UK on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Layang-Layang open for diving?+
No. Malaysia's tourism ministry revoked the licence of Layang-Layang Island Resort, the only place to stay on the atoll, in January 2025, and the island has been closed to tourism since. No reopening date has been announced, and no liveaboards run there regularly.
Is Layang-Layang the same as Swallow Reef?+
Yes. Swallow Reef is the English name for the atoll Malaysians call Pulau Layang-Layang, the place of swallows. It lies in the Spratly Islands and is administered by Malaysia, which has kept a naval presence there since 1983, though China, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim it.
When was hammerhead season at Layang-Layang?+
April and May. Scalloped hammerheads gather in the deep water around the atoll to mate then. While the resort operated, its season ran from March to August, closing for the September-to-February monsoon.
What experience did diving Layang-Layang require?+
Advanced certification and experience in deep blue water. The main sites were worked at 25 to 40 m on walls with no bottom, currents ranged from nil to very strong, and with no decompression chamber on the atoll the resort capped dives at 40 m with no decompression stops.
Sources
- Swallow Reef — Wikipedia
- Malaysian dive resort has licence revoked — Divernet
- Tourism Ministry revokes licence issued to Layang-Layang Island resort — The Star
- Scuba diving in Layang Layang — ZuBlu
- Layang Layang dive sites — Dive The World
- Diving Layang Layang — Divezone
- Layang Layang — Wikivoyage
Photo credits
- A diver hovers beside a curving school of jacks in open blue water off Swallow Reef. by matthew lee, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A blue-spotted stingray rests on sand between coral rubble, its tail curled to one side. by matthew lee, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A striped anemonefish peers out from a cluster of pale teal anemone tentacles. by matthew lee, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A giant clam's fluted mantle shows deep blue and teal patterning against the reef. by matthew lee, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Three divers descend through open water toward a coral reef top below. by matthew lee, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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