Mushroom Rock

Mushroom Rock is listed as a Davao-area dive site in a South Shore Divers contribution to PADI. This partial guide uses the site name and map position from that source. The location has not been independently confirmed by a local diver.

Historical operator accounts disagree between northeast and southeast Samal. This exact PADI point is one source position, not resolution of that conflict.

Current access, entry arrangements, depth limits, currents, visibility and seasonal conditions remain unconfirmed. Confirm the exact site, current local conditions and a suitable dive plan with a local operator.

What the sources say about Mushroom Rock

PADI's dive-site page for Mushroom Rock, fetched in October 2026, describes a site that "features an underwater rock formation resembling a mushroom", with a surrounding reef where divers may encounter "colorful fish, octopuses, and occasional reef sharks". The same page gives a maximum depth of 25 meters, lists the entry as boat, suggests a dive computer and surface marker buoy, and names PADI Advanced Open Water Diver as useful training. The listing records the position as 6.92856, 125.79320, which is the point this guide uses. PADI's text is a short catalogue description rather than a dive log, so none of its figures have been confirmed locally.

Asia Dive Site's Samal Island page, undated, places the site in words: "Towards the south-eastern tip of the island, you'll find Mushroom Rock, so called because of shaped underwater rock formations." It adds, "Expect to see large pelagics here, together with the occasional dolphin", and gives island-wide figures for Samal of 5-35 m depth, visibility up to 20 m or more, currents "moderate to very strong", 1 to 1.5 hours by boat and best months November to May. Those island-wide figures are not Mushroom Rock figures. The Islands Philippines Davao page carries the same paragraph word for word, so the two pages are one lineage, not two witnesses.

Dive Happy's Davao article, first published in Scuba Diver AustralAsia in 2008, calls Mushroom Rock "a local favourite, a collection of sites with steep walls dropping to 30 metres completely suffused with a neverending tumble of soft corals", locates it "at the other end of Samal" from the Ligid islands, compares it to Mansud Wall on Talicud and says both "provide the perfect conditions for an exhilarating drift dive." Note the difference: PADI describes a single rock formation to 25 meters; Dive Happy describes a collection of wall sites to 30 meters. The two accounts are not reconciled here.

A When In Manila dive-trip article by Blogie Robillo dated January 31, 2015 says "Coral walls feature in many of Samal's dive sites", names Mushroom Rock among them, and recommends night diving there to "see enormous basket sea stars on the reef, feeding with ghostly, outstretched arms (often lived-in by commensal shrimp)." SunStar Davao reported on June 5, 2022 that "Samal Island has 25 diving sites" and named Mushroom Rock among them. The Scubago destination page for Davao, which is also where the SSI MyDiveGuide entry for Davao and Samal redirects, refers to "labyrinth-like caves and steep walls, such as the iconic Mushroom Rock." These are dated observations and listings, not promises of what a visitor will see.