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HOUSE REEF
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A drop-off which begins between 3-6m and goes to about
20m, with caverns and crevices, the home of thousands of small fish... sand eels, lion fish,
and excellent for nudibranches at night.
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Kalipayan
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Location: Just off Alona Beach. 5 minutes by banca from Alona Beach. Average Depth: 33 ft, Maximum Depth: 65 ft . This site is normally calm with no current and visibility can reach 80 feet.
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Known as the "Happy Wall", this is a pleasant short wall from 10 ft to 65 ft, with soft, leathery and stony corals, groupers, scorpions, damsels, anemone fish, some small gorgonian sea fans, lots of small reef fish, small groupers and schools of yellow-tail barracudas.
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Arco Point (The Hole in the Wall)
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Location:It takes about 10 minutes by banca northeast of Alona Beach. Average Depth: 33 ft, Maximum Depth: 80 ft. This site is normally calm with little current and visibility can reach 100 feet.
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With a wall and small canyons, plus a tunnel with morays and cardinals, where fish are regularly hand-fed there are small groupers, wrasse, triggerfish, butterflyfish, eels, and sea snakes and at the top of the reef an amazing variety of corals and coral fish. This site is sometimes called the "Hole in the Wall" because there is a vertical funnel which you can enter at 60 ft and exit at 30 ft.
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Pamilacan Island Northwest Side
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Location: 14 miles east of Balicasag Island. It takes 35 minutes by banca southwest of Alona Beach. Average Depth: 65 f t , Maximum Depth: 100 ft plus . This site is normally calm with medium to strong currents and visibility can reach 130 feet.
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Pamilacan translates as "nesting place of Manta Rays", these impressive creatures are occasionally seen here. A good drift dive, the reef is a sandy 45-degree slope with many coral heads, barracudas, triggerfish, groupers, snappers, anemones with clownfish, dogtooth tuna, schools of fusiliers, mackerel, jacks and Napoleon Wrasse. There are some good gorgonian sea fans, and flashlight fish inhabit some of the crevices.
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Balicasag Island / Black Forest
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Location: The northeast of Balicasag Island 4 miles southwest of Panglao Island . Average Depth: 65 ft Maximum Depth: 130 ft The island is 35 minutes from Alona Beach by banca. Normally calm with strong current, but can get really rough with fierce currents. Visibility can reach 130 feet.
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Famous for its "black" corals in different colors. Steep slope to 40m with grouper, emperor, scorpion and schools of blue-tail trigger fish. The shallow waters have garden eels, moray eels, titans and orangestriped triggerfish, shoals of surgeonfish, moorish idols, bannerfish and jacks, Emperor and Royal Angelfish, and pufferfish. The deeper waters have large groupers, Napoleon Wrasse, barracuda, tuna, batfish and snappers.
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Balicasag Island
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Sandy slope 3-9m and then drop-off to 50m. Barrel sponges, table corals and coral fish, sometimes turtles. Overhangs with caverns and lion fish, banner and trigger fish, big tuna and jack shoals.
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Balicasag Island / Rico's Wall
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Location: The Southwest wall of Balicasag Island Southwest of Panglao Island Average Depth: 50 ft Maximum Depth: 165 ft. Balicasag is 35 minutes by banca from Alona Beach to the southwest of Doljo Point. Normally calm with variable currents, but it can be rough and have fierce currents. Visibility can reach 130 feet.
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Rico's Wall has a coral garden on a shelf from 23 ft to 36 ft, beyond is a wall that drops to 115 ft. The coral garden is rich in soft, leeathery and stony corals, hydroids,nudibranchs, sea stars, crinoids, all the smaller reef fish, anemones an dclownfish. Shoals of fusiliers, jacks, snappers, moorish idols, anthias, chromis, pennantfish and bannerfish frequent the reef edge and shallow waters.
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The wall itself has everything - small caves, overhangs and crevices with soldierfish, squirrelfish, lionfish an dmoray eels. There are huge gorgonian sea fans, Elephant Ear Sponges, barrel sponges and basket sponges and crinoids everywhre. Deeper down there are larger groupers, Napoleon Wrasse, tuna and the occasional Grey or Whitetip reef sharks. Barracuda and Rainbow Runners ofeten appear out of the blue.
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Balicasag Island / Rudy's Rock
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Location: The Southwest wall of Balicasag Island , Southwest of Panglao Island. Average Depth: 50 ft, Maximum Depth: 165 ft .
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Rudy's rock is a continuation of Rico's Wall and much the same, except that large Green Turtles are often seen here. There is a huge shoal of Big Eye Trevally thta you can get in amongst. They will circle you for several minutes before becoming bored.
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Rico's Wall and Rudy's Rock are both world-class dives.
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Puntod Wall
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Location: Outer edge of Puntod Islet . Average Depth: 33 ft Maximum Depth: 65 ft . Puntod Islet is 30 minutes west by banca from Alona Beach to the western edge of the reef at the southwest end of Panglao Island. Normally dived only in calm conditions, though there can be strong currents. Snorkelers should have banca cover when the currents are running. Visibility can reach 100 feet.
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This beautiful coral garden sloped from 7 ft to 65 ft with good soft, leathery and stony corals with lots of small fish, sea stars, and sea urchins, anemone with clownfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, pufferfish and wrasse.
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Balicasag Island, 4 miles southwest of Duljo Point, is a microcosm of some of the best diving in the Philippines. On the south side, from the buoy outside Balicasag Dive Resort, is a Marine Sanctuary that has been successfully protected. Vertical walls over deep water in strong currents mean healthy corals and good fish life with plenty of pelagic visitors. Whale Sharks have been seen here in December and January.
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Cervera Shoal (Spaghetti Shoal)
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Location: 9 1/2 miles east of Balicasag Island. 30 minutes by banca southeast of Alona Beach. Average Depth: 50 ft. Maximum Depth: 200 ft plus.
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This site is normally calm with currents and visibility can reach 100 feet. Often called "Snake Island" because it harbors several black-and-white banded sea snakes (hence the spaghetti), this sunken island is a sea mount rising to 40 feet. It is not too good for corals but recommended as a dive into the blue, with lots of snakes and chance of seeing some large pelagic fish. Novices should stay close to their divemaster.
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Light Point |
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Location: northwest point of Cabilao Island, by the lighthouse.
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3 hours from Panglao Island. Average Depth: 100 ft , Maximum Depth: 130 ft plus This site is normally calm, even during rain, with strong currents but can really get rough with fierce currents. Visibility can reach 130 feet.
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An interesting double drop-off, first to 100 ft and then into deep water. With strong currents. Grey and Whitetip Reef Sharks are common, as are barracuda. There are lots of small gorgonian sea fans, large barrel sponges covered with Alabaster Sea Cucumbers, Linckia Sea Stars and crinoids. The numerous small shoals include fusiliers, jacks, moorish idls, pennantfish, butterflyfish and sweetlips.
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Cabilao Island - Southwest Point (Drifting North)
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Location: southwest point of Cabilao Island. Average Depth: 100 ft , Maximum Depth: 130 ft. This site is normally calm, even during rain, with strong currents but can really get rough with fierce currents. Visibility can reach 130 feet.
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Drifting north with the current, you are taken along a typhoon-damaged reef-top at 13 ft, from which a wall goes down in two steps beyond 130 ft.
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There are lots of small gorgonian sea fans, large barrel sponges, smaller Elephant Ear Sponges, basket sponges, good soft corals, whip corals and more fire coral than is normal in the Philippines. Many varieties of nudibranchs and colorful crinoids nestles between corals.
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The reef is teeming with angelfish, butterflyfish, chromis, anthias, needlefish, fusiliers, soldierfish, squirrelfish, scorpionfish, lionfish, snappers, sweetlips, moorish idols, and trumphetfish. Larger groupers and Napoleon wrasses in deeper waters.
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Cabilao Island - Southwest Point ( Drifting South and East )
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Location: southwest point of Cabilao Island. Average Depth: 65 ft , Maximum Depth: 130 ft plus . This site is normally calm, even during rain, with strong currents but can really get rough with fierce currents. Visibility can reach 130 feet.
From a typhoon-damaged reef-top at 13 ft, a good wall drops to 130 ft plus. Huge gorgonian sea fans, lots of black coral and Elephant Ear Sponges covered with Alabaster Sea Cucumbers, together with profuse fish and invertebrate life, make this a fine dive. There are many species of sea cucumbers and sea stars, anemones with clownfish and the rare tube anemones.
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