PULAU LAYANG LAYANG
Sabah
A world-class dive site of unique character awaits you here. Layang Layang is a ring of 13 coral atolls in the midst of the South China Sea. Your best chance of spotting hammerhead sharks lies here. They school in large numbers between March and July, mesmerising divers with their form and gracefulness through the water. Beyond these months they tend to descend into deeper waters. In fact, many kinds of pelagics call Layang Layang home.
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The diving here is characterised by walls that descend as low as 2,000 metres although most divers do not venture beyond the 30-metre depth. Hammerheads are visible in almost all dive sites as they swim in proximity to the atoll. Buoyancy control is your key to enjoying the diving here.
Dogtooth Lair, at the eastern point of the atoll, features the large tuna that lends the site its name. These schooling fish are not the only hosts you can find here. Fusiliers, jacks and even turtles can be spotted on a good day. The large and elusive sun-fish has been sighted here on occasions but hammerheads are also likely.
For those interested in more serene beauty, Gorgonian Forest provides the awesome sight of large gorgonian seafans along the wall. Sponges and sea whips add variety to this visual feast.
Wrasse Strip, besides offering the obvious, is home to a wonderful mélange of soft and hard corals. Their colours are abundant and saturated. Plenty of flat table corals lie here, providing refuge for the smaller reef fish. Of the pelagics, you may find turtles and hammerheads on their many forays as well as the occasional trevally.
Shark Cave will enthrall you with a Leopard Shark encounter if you’re lucky. More common encounters await divers who visit the site’s famous cavern. Here you’ll find many whitetip sharks sleeping – a dream pose for those with cameras!
Layang Layang has also generated some excitement in recent years with the numerous appearances of shortfinned pilot whales. Measuring about seven metres in length, with a bulbous forehead, these whales are docile and usually feed on squid and schooling fish. Pilot whales are normally found in groups of tens or even hundreds, providing a spectacle unrivalled by any other diving experience.
Layang Layang is accessible via Kota Kinabalu. The accommodation here is comfortable but limited in terms of extra-curricular activities. However, the multitude of diving opportunities will leave little time for other pursuits.
