Malapascua · Philippines · Reef
Los Bamboos
A 3 m flat top and a slope to 17 m, used for courses
Area photo: Petter Lindgren · CC BY-SA 3.0
Los Bamboos is the reef off the northwest side of Malapascua, by the resort it takes its name from: a flat top at 3 to 5 metres with sandy patches, and a reef that slopes away to 16 or 17 metres. The two-part profile is why it is used for courses, from Open Water on the shallow top to Advanced Open Water and higher work down the slope.
Where it is and how deep
11.3453° N, 124.1077° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site has two halves and most dives use both. The flat top of the reef sits in 3 to 5 metres, broken up by sandy patches, and it is where skills get run and where students spend the first part of a dive: shallow enough that a mistake costs nothing, textured enough that there is something to look at between exercises. Groups usually start here while everyone settles and the guide checks the group is together.
From the top the reef slopes down to 16 or 17 metres, which is the part that makes it a perfect dive site for courses either for open water, advanced open water or higher. The descent is gradual rather than a drop-off, so a group can work down and back up along the slope in one dive and hold the safety stop on the flat top rather than in mid-water. Coming back onto the shallow reef at the end also puts the brightest part of the site last.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Malapascua: Threshers visit Kimud Shoal all year. March to May is calmest and clearest; October to January brings rough seas, green water and the most cancelled crossings.
Sources
- Los Bamboos - Scubago — Scubago/SSI
- Malapascua — Wikivoyage
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A 30 m swim-through tunnel at 10 m with sharks resting inside
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