Tubbataha Reef - One of the Best Diving spots in the world

Tubbataha Reef is located in the middle of the Central Sulu Sea, 98 nautical miles southeast of Puerto Princesa City. It is composed of two large shallow reef platforms enclosing a sandy lagoon. On the seaward portions of the reef platform are steep, often perpendicular reef walls extending to 50 feet. Most of the park area is submereged, with only a few permanent emergent sandy islands.


It is home to nearly 400 species of fish and bird species, enough reason to declare Tubbataha as a National Marine Park through Proclamation No. 306 on August 11, 1998 this makes commercial fishing or the collecting of corals illegal within 33,2000 hectares of its reefs and surrounding areas.

In 1994, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Tubbataha as World Heritage Site, one of three in the Philippines ( the others being the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and Banaue rice Terraces).

Despite its remote location from Puerto Princesa City and an overnight voyage by ship, Tubbataha has become a popular site for seasoned sport divers. Underwater visibility can often exceed 30-meter seascape with underwater caves and leges teem with marine life. Tubbataha's trademark among the world divers is its coral walls with extensive colonies of fish.