Southern Leyte · Philippines · Wall · Reef · Night
The Hole
Reef top at 3-5 m over a wall that bottoms out at 20-25 m
Area photo: JDQDulfo · CC BY-SA 4.0
A wall on the Tangkaan Peninsula, a short way north of Turtle Rock, with its reef top at 3 to 5 m and its base at 20 to 25 m. The standard profile drops to the bottom of the wall and works gradually back up. It is used for night dives and as a place to get certified.
Where it is and how deep
10.0267° N, 124.9841° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You descend to the bottom of the wall at 20 to 25 m and then make your way gradually up, which puts the deepest part of the dive first and leaves a long, shallow finish. The reef top sits at 3 to 5 m, so the ascent ends on coral rather than in open water and the safety stop is spent looking at something. That shallow ground above the wall is also why the site is used as a place to get certified.
Marbled groupers are a common find, and ornate ghost pipefish hide on feather stars and black corals, which is worth knowing before you start scanning them. A feeding turtle, crawling nudibranchs and a cruising Napoleon wrasse all turn up here regularly. The site is also used for night dives, so the same reef is worth a second look after dark.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Sea turtles
- Nudibranchs
- Napoleon wrasse
- Macro critters
| 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 wall means depth is always one fin-kick away, so watch your buoyancy on the descent and keep the reef top in sight on the way up.
Questions divers ask
How deep is The Hole in Southern Leyte?+
The reef top is at 3 to 5 m and the base of the wall is at 20 to 25 m. Dives start at the bottom of the wall and work gradually back up to the shallow reef.
Is The Hole good for a night dive?+
Yes, it is used for night dives, and it also serves as a certification site. Common finds are marbled groupers, ornate ghost pipefish on feather stars and black corals, nudibranchs, a feeding turtle and a cruising Napoleon wrasse.
Sources
- The Hole — Scubago — Scubago
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
Wall
The oldest marine sanctuary in Sogod Bay, walled to 50 m
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
Reef
A shallow coral area at 2-10 m over a slope that drops past 32 m
Similar dives elsewhere
An east-coast wall with a cave, and Cabilao's best night dive
Step off the jetty onto a wall with resident sharks
Shafts of light in a cracked cavern on the north wall
A drifted wall from 5 m to 25 m, minutes from Alona