Layang-Layang · Malaysia · Reef · Night
The Tunnel
A 15 m crack in the wall, dived for critters and at night
Area photo: matthew lee · CC BY 2.0
The Tunnel is a quiet site on the west side of the atoll's big channel, a little south of the Layang-Layang resort. It is dived at 10 to 25 m in light current for the coral and the small life in the wall rather than for anything out in the blue. Turtles pass through, schools of jacks swirl overhead, and it is one of the sites recommended for night diving.
Where it is and how deep
7.3690° N, 113.8360° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
There is no drop-off routine here: you go in over the reef and work along one stretch of wall, following a big crack around 15 m deep cut into it and full of coral. Current is usually light or absent and the range is 10 to 25 m, so bottom time is long and there is no hurry. This is a dive to move slowly along a short piece of reef rather than one to cover ground.
It is not a site for action or pelagics. What it rewards is looking closely at the small stuff and the critters hiding in the cracks, with the usual reef fish over the coral. Turtles pass through, and big schools of jacks swirl overhead while you are down in the crack. The same qualities - shallow, sheltered, close in - make it one of the sites recommended for a night dive.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
- Sea turtles
- Trevally & jacks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Layang-Layang: The single resort opens roughly March to August and the atoll is unreachable otherwise; hammerhead schooling peaks Mar–May.
Questions divers ask
Is The Tunnel a good night dive?+
Yes, it is one of the sites recommended for night diving at Layang-Layang. The current is usually light, the profile is shallow, and the interest is in the critters in the cracks rather than out in the blue.
Sources
- The Tunnel Dive Site - Map & Review — Divezone
- Best Diving sites in Layang Layang — Divezone
More dive sites in Layang-Layang
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
Similar dives elsewhere
Staghorn fields at depth, and frogfish after dark
Panglao's critter slope, five minutes off Alona Beach
A drop-off 80 m off the beach, from under 2 m to past 40 m
Plateaus at 5–10 m flagged as a night-dive location