Tubbataha Reef

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park — Sulu Sea, Philippines

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the middle of the Sulu Sea, 150 km southeast of Puerto Princesa on Palawan. It is only accessible by liveaboard, only open from March through June, and it is one of the most pristine reef systems in the Coral Triangle.

The Geography

Two main atolls — North Atoll and South Atoll — separated by 8 km of open water, with a third reef (Jessie Beazley Reef) to the north. The atolls are remote enough that commercial fishing is effectively impossible to enforce — though the Philippine Coast Guard now maintains a permanent presence — and the reefs have been designated off-limits since 1988. The result is reef in a state of recovery that more accessible sites cannot achieve.

The Diving

Drop-offs at Tubbataha fall from the shallowest coral at 5 meters to walls that descend past 1,000 meters. The fish biomass is extraordinary: grey reef sharks in large numbers, whitetip reef sharks resting on the sand, blacktip sharks in the shallows, silvertip sharks on the outer walls, and occasional hammerheads at depth. Schools of bigeye jacks and chevron barracuda fill the water column. Sea turtles — both green and hawksbill — are abundant.

The shallow reef tops are dense with hard coral in conditions rarely seen at accessible sites. The coral coverage, the fish biomass, and the absence of dive-tourism damage put Tubbataha in a category by itself among Philippine dive sites.

Practical Info

• Depth: 5–40m | Difficulty: Intermediate
• Access: Liveaboard only; departures from Puerto Princesa (PPS), Palawan — March to June only
• UNESCO status: World Heritage Site since 1993
• Marine life: Grey reef sharks, silvertip sharks, hammerheads, green and hawksbill turtles, bigeye jacks, barracuda