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Sipadan is the only oceanic island in
Malaysia,
rising 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the seabed. It is
located in the Celebes Sea east of the major town of
Tawau and off the coast of Sabah, East Malaysia on the
island of Borneo. It was formed by living corals growing
on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands
of years to develop. More than 3,000 species of fish and
hundreds of coral species have been classified in this
ecosystem. |
Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific
basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in
the world. Sipadan has been rated by many dive
journals as one of the top dive destinations in the world.
Normally, rare diving scenes are frequently seen in the
waters around Sipadan. Schools of green and hawksbill
turtles nesting and mating, schools of barracuda and big-eye
trevally in tornado-like formations, pelagic species such as
manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and
whale sharks.
A
Turtle
Tomb lies underneath the column of the island, formed by
an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels
and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of
turtles that become lost and drown before finding the
surface.
Scuba dive with the swirling tornado-like
formation of Barracudas, the big-eye trevallies, the
thousands silver jack fishes, the giant size parrot
fishes, the numerous turtles and many others such as
mantas, eagle rays, tunas, scalloped hammerhead sharks,
whale sharks and 3000 more species of fish.
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The amazing diversity and abundance of marine life found
at Sipadan makes it one of the top world's top diving
spots and without doubt the most famous scuba
destination in
Malaysia
which is regularly featured in the world's top 10 dive
spots along with other destinations such as the
Galapagos Islands.
You can dive
here all year round. Overall, the best conditions at Sipadan Island exist from April to December, especially
July and August. January to March can see some unsettled
weather and a decrease in visibility but the resorts
on nearby Islands still see plenty of guests at this time as the diving
can still be performed.
Having
now closed the island off to overnight stays, divers
now stay at resorts on nearby islands such as
Mabul
Island,
Kapalai Island and
Mataking Island. Staying
on these islands, divers can dive either in the
morning or after lunch or opt to stay the entire day
on Sipadan but sign up at your respective dive
centres for separate dive groups, for the morning
and the afternoon session. This will indicate to the
dive masters that you wish to stay on the island for
both dive times. However not all resorts have boats
going to and from Sipadan twice a day especially
during low season. |
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