Mactan & Olango · Philippines · Wall · Reef
Sulpa Island
A wall that starts at 5 m and drops past 40, off Marigondon
Area photo: ＤＡＶＩＤ · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sulpa is the closest island to Marigondon, and its sweeping wall is the reason for the short crossing. The face starts at 5 to 7 metres with corals on the lip and the depth below it exceeds 40. Jacks, emperors, trevally, barracuda and rays work the wall, while nudibranchs, harlequin shrimp and mantis shrimp hold in the shallows.
Where it is and how deep
10.2387° N, 124.0111° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Sulpa is the island lying closest to Marigondon, so the crossing is short and the site is usually dived as one half of a morning. The wall begins in 5 to 7 metres of water, which means the interesting part of the dive starts almost as soon as the team is under, and from there it sweeps along the island's edge with the depth below it running past 40 metres. Currents can be strong, so the direction of the dive is set by the water on the day rather than by the plan on the boat.
The lip carries corals and the macro work this coast is known for — nudibranchs, harlequin shrimp and mantis shrimp among the small reef fish — while the bigger animals hold along the face and out beside it: jacks, emperors, trevally, barracuda and rays. Because the wall tops out so shallow, a team can spend the deep part of the dive on the face and still finish the safety stop over living coral rather than hanging in open water.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| 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.
Know before you go
- Currents along the wall can be strong, so teams go in at the up-current end of the island and let the water carry them along the face.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the wall at Sulpa Island?+
The wall starts at around 5 to 7 metres and the depth below it exceeds 40 metres, so the site works for both shallow macro dives and deeper wall profiles.
Sources
- Sulpa Island — Scubago
More dive sites in Mactan & Olango
Reef
Table corals from 3 m down to 40, and nudibranchs on all of it
Wall
A wall from 20 m to about 73 m off Olango's north-west side
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
Similar dives elsewhere
Coral outcrops one side of the village, a wall past 40 m on the other.
Sanctuary wall from 3 m to 40 m with sea fan forests
Sea fans and frogfish on a wall, a 150-year-old wreck below
A vertical wall of huge gorgonians on Panglao's quietest corner