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Viewing Scuba Diving Boracay in the PhilippinesScuba Diving Boracay in the Philippines
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Boracay is a tropical island located 200 miles (315 km) south of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. This island resort is one of the Philippines' most popular tourist destinations, and one of the best scuba diving destinations in the world. By Chris Chew Boracay is a beautiful tropical island located 200 miles (315 km) south of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. This island resort is one of the Philippines' most popular tourist destinations, because it is voted consistently by popular scuba diving and travel magazines as one of the best scuba diving destinations in the world. There are many dive centers and operators in Boracay offering diving trips to top-rated but hard-to-reach dive sites such as those in the Sibuyan Sea, Tablas, Romblon, and Semirara. Close to Boracay are also excellent dive sites catering to divers of varying diving skills. Non-divers will find snorkeling in Boracay an enriching experience because of its rich and diverse marine life near the beaches. Friday's Rock is a nearby rocky outcrop off Boracay's western shore. Expect to see a variety of brilliant colored soft and hard corals, flittering butterfly fish, curious wrasses, darting damsels, playful blue tangs, ominous stingrays, and snappers when diving around Friday's Rock. Hidden under the rocks, crevices, and corals are big scorpion fishes and lion fishes. There are two great dive sites near the main island of Boracay, known as Punta 1 and Punta 2. Punta 1 is the shallower dive of the two spots, with a drop-off of about 24 m (80 ft), and Punta 2 starts at 30 m (100 ft) going down to about 50 m (170 ft). These two dive spots are home to various species of garoupas, trigger fish, angel fish, sweet-lips, tuna, barracuda, and the occasional reef shark. At the southeast coast of Boracay is Crocodile Island (the island is named as such because of its shape). The island a very popular dive location, with a wall dive to about 25 m (80 ft) in depth. This dive site is also very rich in marine life - so much so that many species of fish and corals make this location their permanent home. Crocodile Island is also home to some poisonous banded sea snakes, some of which are as long as 2 m (6.5 ft) in length. Scuba divers need to be very careful of sea snakes, because all sea snakes are poisonous and their bites lead to fatalities. Another great dive location near the main island is Laurel Island. This dive site is for more experienced and advanced divers, because the undercurrent here can be very strong. Drift diving is the main scuba diving activity. The strong undercurrent encourages corals to open up their brightly colored yellow and orange polyps to feed on passing planktons. Divers can also find big colorful sponges and huge waving gorgonian sea fans here. At the northern tip of Boracay is a dive site known asYapak. This is a deep wall diving location starting at about 30 m (95 ft) and descending to the depth of 60 m (190 ft). Once again, the undercurrent here can get pretty strong. Scuba divers will encounter larger pelagic fishes, such as barracudas and various species of sharks. Hammerhead sharks and giant manta rays are the main attractions when diving in Yapak. Other excellent dive sites around Boracay are Carabao (buffalo), Cathedral Cave, Buruanga, Black Rock, and Dog Drift. Is it any wonder why Boracay is rated consistently as one of the best scuba diving site in the world? About the Author: Chris Chew has been scuba diving for three decades. See his travel websites at http://www.asiatravelbest.com. Article Source: Adult Escapes - http://www.AdultEscapes.com More free articles: 1st Rate Articles - 1stRateArticles.com |
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