Diving is centered around the areas of Busuanga in the north, with Coron Bay having become the unofficial wreck-diving capital of the Philippines. To date, nine Japanese wrecks have been discovered and are regularly visited by divers. US Naval records, however, suggests that several more were destroyed and await discovery.
Dramatic limestone rock formations and gentle fringing reefs are found in Northern Palawan. Marine life is dense, with schools of fingerlings, pampanos and jacks. There are some excellent tiered gardens of table corals, sea stars, giant clams, jellyfish, groupers, blue-spotted rays and a few white tip and black tip sharks. Turtles are frequently sighted, as are anemones and clown fishes, tunicates and a variety of eels.
Black Island Wreck
Expertise Rating: Advanced
Named for the black rocks of adjacent Malajon Island, the wreck sits upright on the sloping sandy bottom on the east side of Malajon Island with the bow bottoming at 32m and stern bottoming at 20 m.
The origin of this 150ft vessel is unknown except that it wasn’t sunk during the September 1944 air raid and may not be of Japanese origin. It is now home to large schools of sweepers, snappers, fusiliers, groupers, different species of angelfish, lionfish and scorpion-fish. The hull has lots of sponges and hydroids. The Western side of Malajon Island has poor corals but at times of strong currents, it is good for sightings of large pelagics including hammerhead sharks.
Taiei Maru / Concepcion Wreck
Expertise Rating: Advanced
Sunk during the 1944 air raid, it was an auxiliary oil tanker of the imperial Japanese Navy in World War II, 168m-long, has a smashed bow and lies at 26m. The main deck is at 52 ft. Visibility is often less than 10m. Properly trained divers can enter the wreck, which is a popular technical diving training site. It sits almost level with a slight list to port, pointing 330 (compass bearing) with the bow broken off in 75 ft of water.
It is well covered with sponges, soft and hard corals. A shoal of barracuda often circles divers, with likely sightings of sweetlips, batfish, lionfish, surgeons, groupers, soldierfish, snappers, and a variety of wrasses.
Kayangan Lake (Barracuda Lake)
Expertise Rating: Novice
Picture-perfect scenery, turquoise calm waters, and one of the most unique diving and snorkeling sites in the country. Getting to the site is a challenge—you take a 45 min banca ride south-southeast to a cove of limestone cliffs midway between Limaa Point and Balolo Point on the northwest face of Coron Island and hike with your gear from the beach through a gap in the cliff and then along the winding track up and over sharp limestone pinnacles. The climb is worth it for the scenery alone!
The Kayangan Lake is an inland body of water fed by a freshwater hot spring, by seawater intruding from deep subterranean cracks and by freshwater from rain and springs. As you descend, you will be able to see the shimmering layers of different temperatures and salinity. At 100 ft, temperature reaches 40 degrees centigrade and deeper down would be even higher. There is little to see in the hot water except a mix of shrimps, crustaceans, rabbitfish and a few snappers but when you get back to the walls of the lake, the lake’s main attraction, a 1.5m barracuda waiting to be hand-fed may make an appearance and even swim with you around the lake.