The Barracuda Point, located in the north tip of Sipadan Island in the Celebes Sea, is one of the world’s top five dive sites. It plunges down to 40 metres but even at 10m you can see green and hawksbill turtles, batfish and many species of sharks including white tip and even hammerhead. When you head to 22m, the current takes you to meet school after school of jacks and barracuda – truly photogenic and surreal. The dive at this point often ends at the shallow Coral Garden where you are mesmerised by the vibrant, multi-colour marine life on the coral walls.
The only oceanic island in Malaysia, Sipadan rises 600 metres from the seabed and is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem. The other 10 marked dive sites at Sipadan offer different experiences and diverse marine life. The South Point is famous for its fantastic wall of coral formations and pelagic such as manta rays, hammerhead sharks and blue ringed octopus. The Hanging Garden got its name from the deep wall covered in a multitude of soft coral and colourful corals hanging from the cracks and crevices of the wall.
Turtle Patch is a home to a huge number of hawksbill and green turtles. Mysterious and quite barren compared to other sites, trigger fish and reef fish galore dwell on this reef, making it a very well-rounded site to explore. Another spot to watch the turtles is Drop Off Point, which is rated one of the top five beach dive sites in the world. Here you can see different varieties of corals, lionfish, reef dwelling fish and an abundance of turtles near the entrance to Turtle Cavern.
Whitetip Avenue, along the southeast edge, is home to both sharks and turtles. Expect to see big black and white tip reef sharks, grey sharks, hawksbill and green turtle and occasionally barracudas. If you plan your dives well, you’re very likely to see most famous faces in one day, unlike in most sites in Thailand where a shark or two defines a fortune day.
Diving in Sipadan depends on the weather and maintains daily dive permit quota of 120 to ensure environmental preservation. The island’s sandy beach is also a nice spot to sunbathe. Be careful when you swim away, though, as the seabed plunges hundreds of meters just a few metres from the shore.
