Middle Rocks (Cagnipa Island)
Vibrant coral gardens, walls, and diverse marine life.
Boat Access
18m Avg Depth
31m Max Depth
About this dive site
This dive site, known as Large Reef, is located behind the Middle Rocks, situated between Palawan’s mainland and Cagnipa Island. It offers a captivating underwater experience with dynamic topography featuring walls interspersed with sandy patches. These walls create vibrant gardens brimming with both hard and soft corals. There can be some confusion regarding this reef, as it's sometimes conflated with Middle Reef located within Port Barton Bay, which tends to have reduced visibility and presents an average diving experience.
The area is renowned for its frequent marine life sightings. Divers often encounter graceful sea turtles, blue-spotted stingrays resting on the sandy bottoms, small barracudas, mackerels, and groupers patrolling the reefs. Macro photographers will delight in spotting nudibranchs. The site caters to divers of all skill levels, offering sections suitable for shallow exploration as well as deeper dives with thrilling drop-offs and serene sandy areas – perfect for discovering hidden marine treasures.
Visibility varies seasonally. During the best season, from March through July, visibility can reach up to 40 meters. Conversely, during the off-peak period of December through February, visibility is generally between 15 and 20 meters in shallower waters, decreasing to 6–10 meters below 20 meters.
DivingFreedivingSnorkeling
Plan Your Visit
coral reefwall diveturtlebeginner friendlymacro photographydrop-off
Marine Life
sea turtleblue-spotted stingraygrouperbarracudamackerelnudibranchclownfishparrotfishboxfishpufferfishtrumpetfishpipefishbannerfishhard coralsoft coral
Things to Note
Difficulty:
All levels
Offers shallow areas for beginners and deeper drop-offs for advanced.
Hazards:
currentdepthmarine lifeboat traffic
Current Strength:
Variable
Nearby Dive Sites
Explore other dive sites in the area
Philippines, Palawan, Coron Coron Island Protected Area
Unique lake dive with dramatic thermoclines and alien rock formations.

Philippines, Palawan, Coron Siete Picados Marine Park
Pristine marine park drift dive around seven limestone islets.
Loading more nearby sites...
