Pinnacle · Wall · Reef

Turtle Rock

Mindoro

Deep Diver Specialty / Tec 40–50 Certification RequiredBest Season: Nov – May

A single enormous boulder at the foot of Sinandigan Wall in deep water, gorgonian fans and whip corals on its current-facing face.

Image credit: AI-generated (Higgsfield) · CC0 · pending

Difficulty

Technical

Difficulty level

Depth

131 ft – 148 ft

Depth range

Visibility

49 ft – 98 ft

Typical visibility

Current

Variable

Good buoyancy control advised

Temperature

75°F – 82°F

Water temperature

About This Dive Site

Follow Sinandigan Wall past the recreational limit and the slope keeps going, bottoming out against a single enormous boulder at around 45 metres — Turtle Rock, named for the rounded, shell-like shape of the boulder itself. Gorgonian fans and whip corals stand off the current-facing face, sweetlips and emperor angelfish hold in its lee, and barracuda and trevally patrol the blue beyond. In February the deep water off Sinandigan carries pelagic thresher sharks past the rock. This is a decompression dive on a tide-gated site, and the defining hazard is a down-current off the point — a flow that pulls divers deeper than they planned. Bottom time is brief; the standard profile runs the slope back up to the wall and finishes the dive shallow.

Certification Required: Deep Diver Specialty / Tec 40–50

Current Conditions

Typical current strength at this dive site

Variable

Current strength changes with tides and conditions. Check local conditions before diving.

Strength Scale

None

Mild

Moderate

Strong

Best Time to Visit

Monthly conditions and seasonal highlights — tap a month

AugLess Favorable

Outside peak diving season. Conditions may be less predictable.

BestGoodLess FavorablePeak

Marine Life

8 species recorded at this site

Abundant

Gorgonian Sea Fan

Annella mollis

Common

Sea Whip

Junceella fragilis

Common

Diagonal-banded Sweetlips

Plectorhinchus lineatus

Occasional

Emperor Angelfish

Pomacanthus imperator

Occasional

Great Barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

Common

Bigeye Trevally

Caranx sexfasciatus

Rare

Pelagic Thresher Shark

Alopias pelagicus

Jan, Feb, Mar

Occasional

Reef Stonefish

Synanceia verrucosa

Hazards & Safety

Be aware of these potential hazards at this dive site

Depth

High

At 45 m this is past every recreational limit

Decompression obligation

High

Bottom time is brief, and the standard profile is mandatory: run the slope back up to the wall and finish the dive shallow

Strong current

High

A tide-gated site dived on the flood, where the current off the point can run downward as well as along the slope. On a 45 m dive that down-current is the hazard that matters, and it is why operators run the site only on the days the tide allows.

Certification Required

A minimum of Deep Diver Specialty / Tec 40–50 certification is required to dive this site.