Sipadan Island

The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Lying 35km south of Semporna, on Sabah’s mainland, like many tropical islands it is thickly forested and surrounded by sandy beaches. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed.

The geographic position of Sipadan puts it in the centre of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin. More than 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this richest of ecosystems. Sipadan is well known for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles which gather there to mate and nest and it is not unusual for a diver to see more than 20 turtles on each dive. Another unique feature to divers visiting Sipadan is the turtle tomb, an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that became disoriented and then drowned.

 

The residential schooling barracuda and big-eye trevally, which often gather in thousands forming spectacular tornado-like formations, are one of the highlights of every diver’s wish-list. With the possibility of seeing pelagic species such as mantas, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks, each dive at Sipadan is a highly anticipated event.

It is not only the big fish that amaze divers coming to Sipadan, the macro life is equally mesmerizing. Garden eels, leaf scorpion fish, mantis shrimps, fire gobies, and various pipefish are guaranteed at various dive sites. The diversity and abundance of marine found at Sipadan gives it its reputation of being one of the ten best dive locations in the world.

Diving at Sipadan Island

Sipadan is a legend in diving circles and with good reason. It is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, one of the richest marine habitats in the world; where over 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been identified. Apart from its supreme location, the island and the dive sites that surround it are filled with spectacular natural formations such as a 600m reef wall and a labyrinth of underwater limestone caves, where many turtles have met their doom.

The tiny island can be circled on foot in less than half an hour, but offers at least nine established dive sites with enchanting names like Hanging Garden, Turtle patch, White-tip Avenue, Coral Garden and Barracuda point. Although diving is the main attraction of Sipadan, non-divers are welcome to join the diving boats to go snorkelling in Sipadan. Those that want to start exploring the depths can even complete a four day PADI diving course or a one day Discover Scuba Diving course, offered by all the dive centres on the island.

Underwater encounters

It is not only the diversity but also the abundance of the marine life in Sipadan that has earned its status as one of the top diving locations in the world.

A rich variety of soft and hard corals create a vividly colored backdrop, where equally vibrant schools of tropical fish hover and sway in the current. There are Dendronephyta corals in delicate pastels and feather stars of all shades and hues. Don’t miss diving at Coral Garden to see all of these in their full glory.

It is the thrill of Sipadan’s bigger marine life that brings divers back here time and again. Here you can swim amidst tornado-like schools of thousands of Barracuda and Big-eyed Trev ally or watch as giant schools of Bumphead Parrotfish munch their way through the corals. Manta and eagle rays soar through the Celebes Sea and deeper down, Hammerhead sharks stalk their prey. Endangered green and hawks bill turtles are found in unusually large numbers in the area and some divers see up to twenty of these in one dive.

The macro life is equally mesmerising. Garden eels, leaf scorpion fish, mantis shrimps, fire gobbles and various species of pipe fish are in abundance, if you can peel your eyes away from the big fish for a minute!

Conservation efforts in Sipadan

Sipadan Island was established as a bird sanctuary in 1933 and in 2004, the Government of Malaysia has decided that all onsite dive resort operators are to move their operations out of Sipadan Island by 31st December 2004. The island is open for divers from 6am to 4pm - no night dives are allowed. The number of divers allowed to dive in Sipadan daily has also been limited to 120 pax in an effort to preserve the island’s pristine state.

Sipadan is a treasure which we want to save for the generations to come, before Sipadan can be saved, it must first be truly appreciated - hence the conservation efforts. Nevertheless, a treasure amounts to nothing if it cannot be enjoyed. Therefore, Sabah welcomes everyone to enjoy and appreciate Sipadan, and this appreciation will hopefully incite a bigger desire to save.

Sipadan Dive Sites

There a total of 12 dive sites in Sipadan Island namely the West Ridge, North Point, The Drop Off, Turtle Cavern, Barracuda Point, Coral Gardens, Whitetip Avenue, Mid Reef, Turtle Patch, South Point, Staghorn Crest, Lobster Lair, and the Hanging Gardens. The most popularly recommended dive sites are the Turtle Cavern, Barracuda Point, South Point and Hanging Gardens.

Barracuda Point
The Barracuda Point is located at the north Coast of Sipadan Island. Famous for its astounding vortex of barracudas (hence the name Barracuda Point), divers have also reported sightings of white tip sharks, grey reef sharks, eagle rays, turtles, as well as the bumphead parrotfish. A caveat: currents can get too strong, so don't go too deep!

Turtle Cavern

This site is famous for its population of green turtles and smaller hawksbill turtles. This cavern which lies 20 meters underwater is believed to be the final resting place of turtles. Divers are reminded to be extremely careful when exploring the caves as visibility can be drastically reduced to zero should the silt be disturbed.

South Point
South Point is one of the most likely sites for the rarer sharks such as the hammerheads and thresher sharks which are normally only seen around the 40-meter point. Divers are advised to be wary of the strong currents at this site.

Hanging Gardens
Named after the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the topography of the Hanging Gardens consists of a 2-meter-deep reef that slopes down to a terrace at about 70 meters which subsequently plunges into an abyss. This is an excellent spot to view soft corals with dendronephthya alcyonarians in multifarious pastel colours encrusting the slope. Do keep an eye also for the diverse macro life.

Where to Stay
The Malaysian government has decided that all existing onsite dive resort operators were to move their operations out of the Sipadan Island by 31st December 2004. The move is aimed at conserving and maintaining a balanced marine and land ecosystem on Sipadan’s environments. However, Sipadan will remain as a dive site and divers are to be ferried by operators operating from the mainland or nearby islands other than Sipadan and Ligitan.

On an overnight trip to Sipadan, choose to stay in any one of these excellent resorts:

1. Borneo Divers & Sea Sports (Sabah) Sdn Bhd (KPL 1510)
2. Explore Asia Tours Sdn Bhd (Sipadan-Mabul Resort) (KPL 2941)
3. Seaventures Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd (KPL/LN 2639)
4. Sipadan Water Village Resort Sdn Bhd (KPL 3143)

* Resort rates may vary

Getting There

From Kota Kinabalu, take a 55-minute flight to Tawau and enjoy an hour’s drive to Semporna. From Semporna, Sipadan is another 40 minutes by speedboat. Be sure to pre-arrange transportation with your respective resort/dive operator.