Southern Leyte · Philippines · Wall · Pelagic & blue water
Napantao
The oldest marine sanctuary in Sogod Bay, walled to 50 m
Area photo: JDQDulfo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Napantao is a barangay of San Francisco on Panaon Island, the eastern side of Sogod Bay, and the sanctuary off it is the oldest marine protected area in the bay. It is dived as two sites, north and south, where a large wall drops past abundant giant gorgonian fans to 50 metres. The municipality's coastal waters are inside the Panaon Island Protected Seascape, declared in 2025.
Where it is and how deep
10.0650° N, 125.1330° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The sanctuary sits on the Sogod Bay side of Panaon Island, a 45-minute run across the water from the resort shore. The dive is a wall: it starts on a reef top at about 5 metres and drops past abundant giant gorgonian fans to 50 metres, and the operator that dives it calls the north site majestic on a sunny day, when the light reaches down the face. Swim it at the depth you are qualified for — everything in the upper half is fan garden and clouds of reef fish.
North and south are dived as separate sites along the same drop-off, the southern run carrying the same wall and fan gardens with a slightly easier entry on calmer days. This is the oldest marine sanctuary in the bay, and it is current-fed ground: when the water moves, larger pelagics come along the edge. Napantao is a barangay of San Francisco, whose coastal waters became part of the Panaon Island Protected Seascape in 2025 under Republic Act No. 12238, so the old sanctuary now sits inside a larger managed area.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Southern Leyte: Whale sharks are off Pintuyan roughly Oct–Apr; the bay is sheltered but Jul–Oct brings typhoon risk and rougher water.
Know before you go
- The pelagics turn up when the current runs along the face: start into it, and set a depth on a wall that carries on past 50 metres.
Dive videos
Scuba Diving in Napantao Marine Sanctuary, Sogod Bay, Southern Leyte, Philippines- Diver Bliss · Diver Bliss on YouTube
'World Class'라 불리우는 포인트 - 나판타오 사우스 월, 서던 레이테 (Napantao South Wall, Southern Leyte) · Diver SHine on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the wall at Napantao?+
The Napantao sanctuary is dived as two sites, north and south, and both run from a reef top at about 5 metres down a wall to 50 metres. The operator rates them Open Water and up, but the face continues well past recreational limits, so the depth you dive is your own decision.
Is Napantao in a protected area?+
Yes, twice over. It is the oldest marine sanctuary in Sogod Bay, and its municipality, San Francisco, has its coastal waters inside the Panaon Island Protected Seascape, designated in 2025 under Republic Act No. 12238.
Sources
- Dive Sites — Sogod Bay Scuba Resort — Sogod Bay Scuba Resort
- San Francisco, Southern Leyte — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
- Panaon Island — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
- Southern Leyte — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
More dive sites in Southern Leyte
Day-trip walls from 20 to 50 m at the mouth of the bay
House-reef wall to 40 m with a whip-coral forest
Reef
Two reef sections linked in one dive on a mild current
Pelagic & blue water
Whale shark season and a current-fed point to 40 m
Reef
The peninsula corner where the reef drops to 36 m
Wall
Reef top at 3-5 m over a wall that bottoms out at 20-25 m
Reef
A shallow coral area at 2-10 m over a slope that drops past 32 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A 15 to 40 metre wall with the strait's most consistent pelagics
The Togians' best odds on schooling scalloped hammerheads
A vertical face into 2,000 m, with pygmy seahorses in the fans
Sheer drop-off at the island's northern tip, 15 m to 40 m