Mactan & Olango · Philippines · Wall
Baring (Olango)
A wall from 20 m to about 73 m off Olango's north-west side
Area photo: ＤＡＶＩＤ · CC BY-SA 3.0
Baring runs along the north-western side of Olango, about 30 minutes by boat from Mactan. A large sloping sand flat leads out to the head of the wall at 20 metres, and from there the face drops to roughly 73 metres before easing into a gradual slope. Grey reef sharks, tuna, barracuda, snappers and jacks work the water beside it.
Also known as Baring.
Where it is and how deep
10.2894° N, 124.0593° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The boat run from Mactan takes around 30 minutes to the top of Olango. The dive opens on a large sloping sand flat, which is the shallow half of the site and the part that gives a team its bearings, and the flat runs out to the lip of the wall at 20 metres. That is where the site changes: below the lip the face falls to about 73 metres before disappearing into a gradual slope, one of the deepest walls dived anywhere around this island.
The corals on the upper face are the reason to dive it, and the depth beneath them is a limit rather than a target, so recreational teams work the top of the wall and set a turn depth before they go in. Grey reef sharks, tuna, barracuda, snappers and jacks are what is reported here, and they are out in the water rather than on the coral, so the dive is spent with the rock on one shoulder and an eye on the blue.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Tuna
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Mactan & Olango: Mar–May, the hot dry season, is the usual window; the Jun–Nov rains cut visibility on the house reefs, and typhoon risk runs highest around Nov–Dec, as Typhoon Rai showed in December 2021.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the wall at Baring?+
The wall starts at 20 metres and runs down to about 73 metres before disappearing into a gradual slope. Recreational teams dive the upper part of the face; the foot of it is a technical depth.
How long is the boat ride to Baring?+
Around 30 minutes from Mactan to the top of Olango Island, where the site sits along the north-western side.
Sources
- Baring — Scubago
- Olango Island Group — Wikipedia
More dive sites in Mactan & Olango
Reef
Table corals from 3 m down to 40, and nudibranchs on all of it
Wall
A channel wall to 35 m with a current that runs hard
Sharks at 35 m off Olango's northern tip, hammerheads among them
A blue opening in the wall at 25–27 m, depending on the tide
Cave & cavern
A 29 m roof, a 40 m floor, and a chamber full of flashlightfish
Wreck
A ship at 50 m that a typhoon stood back upright
Reef
A wide shield reef with the wall starting at 5–7 m
A drop-off at 15 m running down to 50, off Olango's pier
Similar dives elsewhere
Predators along the wall, and a crevasse to 40 m as current shelter
Hundreds of batfish and jacks holding in the current
A coral peninsula at 30 m with predators working the current line
Limestone and white sand, a wall to 35 m, rarely any current