Mactan & Olango · Philippines · Reef · Wall
Talima Marine Sanctuary
A wreck memorial at 12 m that works as a fish magnet
Area photo: ＤＡＶＩＤ · CC BY-SA 3.0
Talima is a marine sanctuary on the Olango side of the channel, where a large sandy slope dotted with corals runs down to the head of the wall at 12 to 17 metres and the ground below carries on past 40. A memorial at around 12 metres marks the place where wooden wrecks once lay, and the fish it gathers are why the site is dived.
Where it is and how deep
10.2828° N, 124.0510° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive opens on a large sandy slope dotted with corals, which runs down to somewhere between 12 and 17 metres. That is where the wall starts, and the ground below it goes on past 40 metres, so the depth of the dive is a decision the team makes rather than one the site makes for them.
At around 12 metres there is a memorial to wooden wrecks that are long gone from the site. The structure has become the draw: turtles, jacks, emperors, trevally, barracuda and sardines all pass through it, and it is the feature most teams plan the dive around. Currents can run strong on an outbound tide, so the crossing and the descent are timed against the water rather than the clock, and the shallow coral slope is the easy way back.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
- Sardine baitballs
| 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 can run strong on an outbound tide, so dives here are timed to the tide and the wall is worked with the water rather than against it.
Questions divers ask
What is the memorial at Talima?+
A memorial at around 12 metres marks where wooden wrecks used to lie. The wrecks themselves are long gone, but the site draws fish: turtles, jacks, emperors, trevally, barracuda and sardines are all seen around it.
How deep is Talima Marine Sanctuary?+
The sandy coral slope runs down to 12–17 metres, where the wall begins, and the depth below that exceeds 40 metres.
Sources
- Talima Marine Sanctuary — Scubago
- Olango Island — Wikivoyage
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
A million-plus sardines holding a short swim off the dive shops
Schooling barracuda and trevally when a current is running
The island's most reliable edge for grey reef and whitetip sharks
The protected shallows where Balicasag's turtles are thickest