Redang & Perhentian Islands · Malaysia · Reef · Coral garden
Batu Layar
Staghorn and table coral to 18 m, with reliably clear water
Area photo: Ditch Townsend · CC BY-SA 4.0
Batu Layar, which translates as Sail Rock, is a hard coral reef in the Perhentians built of staghorn thickets and massive table corals. It extends down to 18 m, where it turns into a sandy bottom, and is rated locally as one of the best sites in the islands for its consistently good visibility.
Also known as Sail Rock.
Where it is and how deep
5.9130° N, 102.7439° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The reef is the dive. Staghorn corals and massive table corals cover the hard bottom, and the route is a slow swim across coral rather than a run along a wall or a hunt through structure. Coral this dense repays going slowly and looking into the thickets and under the tables instead of trying to cover ground, and the reputation the site has locally comes from that coral rather than from any single feature.
The reef extends down to 18 m and turns into sand there, which gives the dive a clear boundary: work the coral out to the sand edge, then turn and come back over the shallower part for the last section and the safety stop. Visibility here is consistently good by local standards, which is part of why it is rated as one of the better Perhentian sites. No shallow-end or current figures are published, so the exact profile is the guide's call.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Redang & Perhentian Islands: The marine park is officially closed November 1-February 28 for the northeast monsoon; conditions are calmest and clearest April-September.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Batu Layar?+
The coral reef extends down to 18 m, where it turns into a sandy bottom. No minimum depth is published, so the shallow end of the dive depends on how the guide runs it.
Sources
- Batu Layar - Scubago — Scubago (SSI)
More dive sites in Redang & Perhentian Islands
Pinnacle
Exposed northern pinnacle sloping from 5 m to 30 m
Reef
Stacked boulders and swim-throughs on Besar's east face
Wreck
A 32 m patrol vessel scuttled as a reef, top at 16 m
Wreck
Three police boats sunk in 2012 between 14 and 19 m
Reef
The northern tip's deep site: boulders and swim-throughs at 20 m
Swimthroughs between three offshore rocks in 30 m visibility
Wreck
A troop transport at 24 m, with penetration for overhead divers
Wreck
A 90 m sugar carrier the coral has not finished claiming
Similar dives elsewhere
Two shallow coral sites: nudibranchs at 12 m, macro to 18 m
Brain, maze and table coral from 3 m, easy enough to snorkel
Blacktip reef sharks over a granite slope on the western side
Hard-coral slope of staghorn, table and brain corals