Technical Dive Sites of Malapascua

As we mention on our home page, we believe Malapascua is the best ‘all round’ diving in the Philippines. And this means that even though there’s a bunch of people here to learn to dive, or just see the Thresher Sharks, there is also a great amount to offer more advanced technical divers.

With a selection of sites ranging from 30m to 130m, we can pretty much fulfil anyone’s desires in terms of tech diving sites here in Malapascua. You can see big fish, sharks and rays on our magnificent walls, or just spend your extended bottom time looking at nudibranchs and gobi’s like some of our regular divers like to do!

The deep channel between Malapascua and Monad shoal means there’s all kinds of exciting spots, and deep sea creatures lurking at the bottom of the wall. And if it’ wrecks that you’re into then we have a range of those which you can read about on our Wreck Diving page.

Monad Shoal Tech Dive Sites

Monad shoal is a large sunken island which means we have over 10km of wall to dive between 20m and 120m. So we are still exploring some areas. Here’s a few of our current favorite spots for deep dives on Monad Shoal:

Manta Point

The traditional spot to see Thresher Sharks and Manta Rays at the north of the shoal never fails to offer a great dive no matter what depth you dive at. A nice ledge at 45m is full of sea fans and home to a giant school of vertical swimming shrimp fish, we often get surprised by a shark or a ray sneaking up on us while we enjoy this area. If you drop over the ledge you will find 2 small caves about 100m apart on the wall, one between 58-65m, and a deeper one between 70-80m. Not much penetration in them, but fun places to look around and find shrimp, crabs, and rare deep water gobies. Keep going down the wall to as much as 120m if you want a fantastic trimix wall dive. As you end your dive and ascend, expect to see large Pelagics during deco.

Bannerfish Point

As the name implies this central dive site is home to a large school of Bannerfish that color the reef with their yellow, white and black stripes. Now also commonly dived to see Thresher Sharks, the deep boulders between 30-80m make an amazing topography for exploring, and whitetip sharks are common in this area.

If you’re lucky you can also have close up encounter with the resident school of jacks which probably numbers up to 1000 individuals and generally hangs out at around 60m.

West Cavern

The west side of Monad Shoal remains virtually undived by anyone other than Evolution, and we’d still like to explore there more. Our favorite site brings you to a large open cavern which opens at 45m and beckons you in. Although not going too far into the wall of Monad shoal the large opening can reveal sleeping whitetip sharks, and a host of other fish hiding in the darkened area. This side of Monad shoal is also a great spot to see eagle rays and marble rays, so don’t miss out when you make your trip here!

Macklin’s Mound

Named after one of our regular visitors and friends, Macklin’s Mound is a deep water pinnacle with it’s top at 45m descending down to 65m. Covered in undisturbed corals and marine life it is a beautiful site, which also happens to be a cleaning station for sharks and rays. Dive it at 5am and expect to be ducking from the multiple sharks as they approach at speed from all sides and above and below you. As you leave this site you can ascend past another cleaning station at 35m and then find your way to the main wall to finish up your deco on the top of the shoal at 12m and shallower.

tech diving sites malapsacua philippines

‘The Trench’ Tech Dive Sites

The beach from Evolution slopes gradually down to 35m, and then drops dramatically into the abyss between Malapascua and Monad Shoal.

We are yet to determine the full length of this wall as we just don’t have enough hours in the day to dive it! So far we have three favorite spots that we like to visit, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy them too. This wall is just 800m from the diveshop, so quick and easy and even dive able if the conditions are rough.

The Gash

One of the first spots we discovered is directly in front of the diveshop. Descending to the top of the reef at 38m you see a small cut in the wall, and as you descend over the edge of the wall you see the cut continues down the wall and opens up into what looks like a large wound…hence the name. A long thin opening from 50m at the top spreads down to 65m at the sand. Once you enter this cave you’ll see a few areas where you can explore further back into the darkness but so far we haven’t found any passages going very far. Every now and then a sea snake is sleeping on the bottom of this cave, and look out for the resident eagle rays which can be seen cleaning in pairs along the nearby sections of wall.

Thompson’s Tunnel

About 200m along the wall from The Gash is a shallower cave, quite small, but big enough for a large turtle! More than half the time we visit this divesite we bump into “Tiny” who is one of the largest turtles we’ve ever seen. Other than this friendly resident, you can expect to see schooling sardines, lots of nudibranchs, and quite possibly some sweetlips and angel fish who live in the area.

North Wall

One of David’s favourite spots for a deep dive as this area descends sharply from 35m on the top of the wall to 100m.

This northern area of the wall is home to 2 or 3 spotted eagle rays which are regularly seen on our dives. There’s also vast coverings of colourful corals, and a few small caverns here and there.

Dont forget to contact us for our current prices. We offer a sliding scale, so in simple terms, the more you get wet, the cheaper it becomes.

Or book now if you are ready to take the plunge!