Siargao · Philippines · Reef · Muck & macro · Night
Secret Garden
A resident pink frogfish on three linked reefs near Naked Island
Secret Garden is a group of three interconnected shallow reefs near Naked Island, in a sheltered part of the bay with no surge and no competing dive boats. It is Siargao's macro dive, known for a resident pink frogfish, crocodile fish and the mandarinfish seen on night dives.
Where it is and how deep
9.7349° N, 126.1259° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The three reefs connect to one another between 3 and 12 m, so the whole dive stays shallow. There is no significant current. Macro life here includes the resident pink frogfish, crocodile fish, nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, ribbon eels, scorpionfish, cuttlefish and octopus. Night dives target the resident mandarinfish.
Marine life and season
- Frogfish
- Mandarinfish
- Nudibranchs
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Siargao: March to May brings the calmest seas and clearest water; from November to February bay diving continues but the Pacific sites, Blue Cathedral included, are less predictable.
Sources
- Siargao Dive Guide: Blue Cathedral & Reef Walls — Philippine Dives
- OpenStreetMap: Naked Island — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Siargao
Cave & cavern
An open Pacific cavern where schooling jacks and barracuda move through
Coral garden
Dense, well-preserved hard coral cover on an easy, relaxed reef
Reef
A submerged rock arch to swim through, framed by hard and soft corals
Reef
A coral reef beside a surf break, falling to sand in the channel
Wall
Whitetip and blacktip reef sharks resting on the reef and patrolling the wall
Similar dives elsewhere
Mandarinfish dancing at dusk among black sea urchin spines
Mandarinfish mating in the coral at sunset
Blue-ringed octopus and frogfish among coral boulders
Sea-fan plateau at 30 m above rubble shallows with frogfish and mandarinfish