Asian Geographic - April 2018

Pulau Sipadan

Lying just off the northeast coast of Borneo is

Sipadan, Malaysia’s only oceanic island. This

magical isle was made famous by renowned

French oceanographer, Jacques-Yves Cousteau,

in his documentary Borneo: The Ghost of the

Diving in

Paradise

Malaysia boasts some of the

planet’s finest dive sites, and

its pristine waters are rich in

marine life

UNDERWATER WORLD

Text and Photos Tourism Malaysia

Sea Turtle. But healthy numbers of green

turtles are by no means the only creatures

you’ll find here: Sipadan offers prolific marine

life of all shapes and sizes.

Those with the Cavern Diver certification

can explore the same mysteries that Cousteau

and his crew did almost 30 years ago at Turtle

Cavern. Inside lies a macabre chamber of

skeletons belonging to turtles and dolphins

that got lost in the labyrinth of tunnels,

became disorientated and drowned.

Elsewhere, rare and peculiar fish species call

Sipadan’s corals home, including porcupine

pufferfish, clown triggerfish, unicornfish

and Moorish idols. Giant moray eels lurk in

their grottos, observing the traffic going past,

while huge gorgonian sea fans protrude like

the plume of a proud peacock. Hundreds of

fearsome-looking barracudas sometimes form

a grey wall from the sheer weight of their

numbers. Bumphead parrotfish often rumble

past in bison-like hordes. A night dive may

WHEN

All year round, but

visibility is best from

April to August

WHERE

Off the east coast of

Sabah

HOW

From Kuala Lumpur,

take a flight to Tawau

Airport, and then arrange

a boat ride from nearby

Pulau Mabul

EXPERIENCE

P U L A U

SIPADAN

below Diving among

schools of fish at Pulau

Sipadan