Mandarin Valley
Reef Basics: Slope and sandy floor
Depth: 8 - 20m / Visibility: 20 - 35m / Water Temperature: 25 - 30�C
Currents: Gentle / Surface Conditions: Can be a little choppy
Experience Level: Beginner - intermediate

Slowly descending down a coral slope on your left shoulder. Don't go too fast or you will miss the more camouflaged residents such as stonefish and frogfish watching you go by. Like all of the Kapalai scuba diving sites, both small rare fish and invertebrates are in abundance, living without the threat of Sipadan's many dangerous reef predators. The Ligitan Reefs also act as a nursery for juveniles of many species.

As you get down to the floor you may find several cuttlefish. To watch the responses of the cuttlefish to your movements as its skin pulsates and flashes into different camouflage patterns is a great interaction between man and aquatic beast. It is also worth keeping an eye out so as not to miss the chance to see squadrons of their squid cousins jetting by.

The cuttlefish often tend to linger near the wreck of a small fishing boat found in around 18 metres of water. Naturally the wreck provides shelter to various other wonders such as ghost pipefish in various colours including reddish-orange. Also often spotted here are the photogenic longnose hawkfish, crocodilefish and nudibranchs.

Over the channel amidst the corals and sponges you can hunt for vibrantly coloured mandarinfish merrily dancing this way and that among the black spines of sea urchins. The list of small critters to be found here is endless. Add to this the few large sharks and crayfish that put in an appearance after the sun has set and you can see why this site is so highly regarded.

Black Ray Channel
Reef Basics: Sandy channel
Depth: 5 - 20m / Visibility: 20 - 30m / Water Temperature: 25 - 28�C
Currents: None / Surface Conditions: Can be a little choppy
Experience Level: Beginner - intermediate

Sink down here in the bath-warm water and cruise along a sandy channel leaving the reef to your side. If you have a keen eye you can find all manner of Kapalai's sea-life here including ribbon eels, stonefish, ghost pipefish and a beautiful lavender coloured frogfish.

There is little need for you to exhaust yourself finning to cover ground as it seems that in every crevice there is another small joy waiting to be discovered. Crossing over the sandy channel which gives the site its name the dive normally proceeds to an underwater garden of extraordinary richness.

Here you can catch sight of many beautiful and rare nudibranchs among other wonders including, if you are lucky, a tropical octopus. The most highly prized sight in this Kapalai dive however is the dragonfish or pegasus found in pairs on the sandy floor. If your group finds them just wait for the excited post-dive chatter on the wooden sundeck of the resort.
 

The Jetty
Named the 5th best dive site in the world last year. This is Kapalai house reef and is where the 5 wrecks are located. This dive site offers a good mix of both large pelagic and small critters!

Mid Reef
Go down the ball line to around 25m here the current can be very strong so this is a dive site for the more experienced diver. This dive site is famous for its pigmy seahorses.


Gurnard Point
This dive site lies beside the Police Jetty. At the bottom of the reef lies a small wreck where lives a Giant Frog Fish, and lots of Moray eel! After the wreck dive down the sandy plateau and watch out for many swimming sting Rays as they dart away from the dive group. As the divers go back to the sloping reef you will see the very unusual Flying Gurnard (which looks like a peacock underwater!) A truly unique dive site!!
 

RELATED SITES

Sipadan Dive Islands - Kapalai
Information & Travrl Guide - The Island / Diving & Marine Life / Accommodations / Getting There