Malapascua Island

Although Malapascua is probably most famous for thresher sharks, which are the general attraction to the island, upon arriving most divers are amazed at the variety of other things that can be seen in the surrounding reefs.  Divers leave promising to come back to capture the pygmy sea horse or witness another mandarin fish mating. The waters are full of surprises some expected, some not.

Malapascua is known for some of the best shark diving in the Philippines, famous for the thresher sharks, which can be seen at any time of year at Monad Shoal. This is reputedly the only place in the world where these sharks can be seen within recreational diver limits on a regular basis. The owners Dik and Cora de Boer and staff of Exotic carried out the first encounters with the thresher sharks in 1997. Later,  film crews and dive magazines from all over the world came to visit our resort just to see this phenomenon.


At other times of the year it is also possible to encounter schooling hammerheads and giant manta rays that also frequent the cleaning stations at Monad Shoal. If you would like to learn more about cleaning stations and thresher sharks check out our distinctive thresher shark specialty course. Gato Island is another famous shark site where it is practically guaranteed that you will see white tip sharks sleeping within the caves and crevasses and if you have a good eye, bamboo sharks nestling in the cracks. source: malapascua.net