Tubbataha Reef – The most remote diving in the Philippines

Tubbataha reef is one of the most extraordinary places you can scuba dive! Deep blue water surrounds three remote atolls far in the Philippine Sulu Sea and is home to a remarkable density of marine wildlife. Thousands of sharks, rays, manta rays, turtles, barracuda and jacks populate the colorful coral reefs of Tubbataha Natural Park, the most remote diving location in the Philippines. The reef is also nesting site for birds and turtles and a nursery to the largest of all fish, the whaleshark.

 

Tubbataha reefs natural park – a UNESCO world heritage

Protected since the 1980ies by the Philippine government it was elevated to world heritage status by UNESCO in 1993. Even Jacques Cousteau came here to marvel at its beauty. The upcoming development of dynamite fishing and later commercial fishing fleets would have decimated this paradise, fortunately for the marine life and for divers the government took decisive action and protected this area, enlarging it in 2006 to include the smaller reef Jesse Beazley and establishing a permanent ranger base on one of the atolls. 

 

Location & how to get there

You can only reach Tubbataha reef by liveaboard as it is around 150km southeast of Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan. Sulu Sea is the ocean that is shaped by Palawan in the West, Mindanao in the East, and Borneo in the South, but closest to Palawan. 

 

Best time to go

During typhoon season from June to December it is not advised to travel there, so liveaboard season is exclusively March to May, making it a tight season to plan for.

 

Scuba diving at Tubbataha reef

All three reefs are atolls that drop off steep over 1000m to all sides. The circular tip of the reefs barely break the surface. The large north island has a sandbank where the ranger station is located, the south island has a tiny island with a light house where a lot of sea birds nest. Jesse Beazley doesn’t even break the surface permanently. This is mainly und underwater world, and it is rich in corals and fish.

Diving along the reef in most cases is wall diving, although some sites have a flatter angle. The reef consists of massive hard and soft coral fields, some of the biggest Gorgonian fans that you can find anywhere in the world.

 

Marine species & biodiversity

There is no place in the Philippines and maybe in Asia where you will find more marine life than at Tubbataha reef. Massive schools of jacks and barracuda circle along the reefs. Sting rays come together in big groups and mobula rays can be seen often. There is a manta cleaning station, so you can expect to see some of the giant rays as well. 

Reef sharks patrol the deep edge, while white tip reef sharks bask in the sun and black tip sharks patrol the shallows. You will also be able to spot some of the rarer seen sharks like silver tip sharks and sometimes tiger sharks.

But the main draw are the whalesharks. It is virtually guaranteed to see several whalesharks here. It is assumed that this is a nursery, as these whalesharks are smaller and are very curious, approaching divers and playing with their bubbles. 

 

Tubbataha reef liveaboard

Most serious dive operators come here with their boats. It is intense diving, 3 to 4 times a day, so you want to make sure you have a good operator. The crossing is over open sea, so it is recommended you pick a sturdy vessel that will not sway too much if there are waves.