This document summarizes dive sites in Southern Leyte, Philippines. It lists over 10 dive sites across the region, located primarily in Sogod Bay, including House Reef with 3 individual dive sites, Tangkaan Point with Turtle Rock and 2 wall dives, Malitbog with 2 drift dives and a wreck dive, Limasawa Island with 4 unique dives, Liloan known for its strong channel currents and whale shark watching, and Napantaw and Son-ok Point on Panaon Island featuring wall dives and schools of fish. Access to the dive sites is described, along with recommendations for 2 dive resorts in the area.

2. Basic Facts
 Currents : can be strong
 Average cost of a dive :
 Dive Sites : 10+
 Dive Operators : 5+
 Off Season : June-Oct

3. Southern Leyte

4. Dive sites in Southern Leyte
The dive
sites are
located in
Sogod Bay

5. Dive Sites in Southern Leyte
 House Reef
 Divided into three dives: Max Climax Wall, Voltaire’s Rock
and Baluarte.
 Max Climax Wall is riddled with crevices, home to
angelfish, snapper, Napoleon wrasse, sweetlips, and grouper
which greet divers on their descent along the coral-covered
heights.
 A little farther along are Baluarte and Voltaire’s Rock, which
both host a rich assortment of pelagics, including
jacks, tuna, and barracuda. Rays, turtles, sea snakes, and
sharks are also common. Gorgonian fan corals are well
represented, as well as good clumps of black and soft corals.

6. Dive Sites in Southern Leyte
 Tangkaan Point
 Tangkaan has varied reefs and underwater walls. Dive sites are
more easily accessed by boat; for snorkelers, there are shallow
coral gardens that characterize much of the stretch of the
point.
 Turtle Rock is suited for big fish lovers; green turtles are
common (hence the name), as well as batfish, eagle rays, and
grouper. The corals are prolific and diverse —
gorgonians, tables, brains, sea whips, barrels, and sponges
galore.
 The Medicare and Heaven’s Gate are steep walls with table
and soft corals, large sponges, and anemones. The Medicare is
your best bet to see the elusive frogfish, while Heaven’s Gate
hosts a wide variety of nudibranchs.

7. Dive Sites in Southern Leyte
 Malitbog
 The dive sites here lend themselves well to macro
photography: Cantamuac and Bunga Bend for
nudibranchs and a variety of critters amidst colorful
corals and crinoids in strong current, and the Cemetery
Wreck, with its coral-encrusted barge teeming with
marine life.
 Limasawa Island
 Spectacular, historic island with dives to suit all abilities
and tastes: Zach’s Cove for sheer depth and gorgonians;
Adrian’s for huge table corals; Blue Tang Drift for pelagic
action; and Sea Snake Shoal for lots of sea snakes.

8. Dive Sites in Southern Leyte
 Liloan
 This part of Sogod Bay offers an assortment of dives (both
shallow and deep) as well as excellent opportunities for
whaleshark watching from November to April.
 Liloan is also home to the Tabugon Fish Sanctuary
(established in 1993) and Tagbak Marine Park.
 The area’s main attraction is the drift dive in the channel
under the Liloan Bridge. It is an exhilarating and challenging
dive in strong alternating currents (the place got its name
from the local word for ‘whirlpool’), with rich coral
formations and many caves along the route. It is
recommended for experienced divers only.

9. Dive Sites in Southern Leyte
 Panaon Island
 The underwater walls at Napantaw, San Francisco have huge
gorgonian, black, and soft corals fed by the strong currents.
Inhabitants of the reef include
batfish, grouper, sweetlips, and pretty much every other reef
fish you would expect to find on walls as diverse as these
 Son-ok Point in neighboring Pintuyan features a terrace-like
terrain abloom with corals. Huge schools of
jacks, surgeons, and black-tip sharks are regular sightings, as
well as trumpetfish, colorful
butterflyfish, puffers, snappers, groupers, cuttlefish, and
various species of damselfish. Giant clams and other mollusks
are also common in the area.

10. How to get there
 From Manila
 Take a domestic flight from Manila to Tacloban
 From Tacloban, the resorts can make arrangements to
pick you up. Usually takes 3.5 hours to Sogod Bay.
 From Cebu
 Take a direct flight to Cebu International Airport or a
domestic flight from Manila
 From Cebu, there are a number of ferry services to Leyte
(Bato, Hilongos, Ormoc or Maasin )

11. Places to stay
 Peter’s Dive Resort
 Website: www.whaleofadive.com
 Sogod Bay Scuba Resort
 Website: www.sogodbayscubaresort.com

12. References
 http://www.asiadivesite.com/philippines-dive-
sites/leyte/
 http://www.whaleofadive.com/dive/