Puerto Galera · Philippines · Drift · Channel & pass · Reef
Canyons
Three current-cut canyons and an old Spanish anchor at 30 m
Area photo: Firth McEachern · CC BY-SA 4.0
Puerto Galera's signature drift. Divers drop in close to Hole in the Wall and the current carries them down the slope into three canyons cut into the reef, each with sheltering walls and a sandy floor to kneel on while big fish hold station overhead. An old Spanish anchor marks the end of the third and deepest canyon at 30 m.
Where it is and how deep
13.5244° N, 120.9937° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive is run one way, and it is different depending on the tides. Boats put divers in close to Hole in the Wall, up-current of the canyons, and from there you descend along the slope and let the current take you deeper — there is no swimming back against it. What the water is doing on the day sets where you go in and how far along the reef the drift carries you.
The canyons themselves are three cuts in the reef, walled on both sides with sandy bottoms where you can kneel down out of the flow and watch the big fish fighting the current above your head: schooling drums, trevallies, batfish and sweetlips over big sea fans, with giant trevallies and batfish among the fans and barrel sponges. Inside the canyons are octopus, scorpionfish, sea snakes and other reef fish.
At the end of the third and deepest canyon, at 30 m, an old Spanish anchor sits embedded in the rock. On every side of the canyons the slope drops quickly to 40 m and beyond, so from here the only way is up: the dive finishes with a blue-water ascent and a safety stop with no reference to hold. Large schools of snappers, blue-finned trevallies and emperor fish gather along the way, and manta rays, thresher sharks and hammerheads have all been seen here.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Sea snakes
- Manta rays
- Thresher sharks
- Hammerheads
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Puerto Galera: November–May dry season is calmest; June–October southwest monsoon brings rain and swell.
Know before you go
- The slope drops past 40 m on every side of the canyons, so a drift run without watching the gauge takes you deeper than planned, and there is no swimming back up-current to correct it.
- The dive ends with a blue-water ascent and a safety stop in open water with nothing to hold onto; a deployed SMB and settled buoyancy are part of the plan, not extras.
- Conditions change with the tide, and the entry point and the line of the drift change with them, so it needs a shop that has checked the water on the day.
Dive videos
Scuba Diving the Philippines - Beautiful Coral Canyons, Puerto Galera, June 2016 · WATERLOGGED! on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Canyons dive?+
The usual profile runs 12-32 m, with the third and deepest canyon and its Spanish anchor at 30 m. The slope on every side of the canyons keeps dropping past 40 m, so depth has to be watched rather than followed.
Do I need to be an advanced diver for the Canyons?+
Yes. It is rated advanced: a one-way drift in strong current that finishes with a blue-water ascent. PADI lists Advanced Open Water, Drift Diver and Enriched Air as useful training for the site.
Sources
- Canyons dive site | PADI — PADI
- Diving in the Philippines — Wikivoyage
In The Logbook
- Malapascua thresher sharks: Monad or Kimud?Big animals · 11 min read
More dive sites in Puerto Galera
Wreck
A cargo hull upright at 30 m, lit through its own skylights
Mandarinfish leave the fire coral here at dusk
Reef
A swim-through at 14 m with shoals riding the current overhead
Channel & pass
Drift the channel either way, depending on flood or ebb
Reef
Pygmy seahorses on the fans, turtles over the hard coral
Small wrecks, sea-pen sand and frogfish five minutes off the beach
A coral wall in the middle of the passage, dived in strong, clear water
Similar dives elsewhere
A drifted slope of soft and black coral off Pamilacan's tip
Juvenile whitetips tucked into small caves along a drifting slope
Gentle eastward drift with plenty of green turtles
A hard drift off the point, with tuna and barracuda in the flow