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Hanging Gardens
In a nutshell, this is a wall dive which begins with a drop-off just over a metre from the surface, descends gradually to a terrace at about 70 metres and then plunges into an abyss. This is the topography of this Sipadan diving site - hence its name Hanging Gardens. The terraces filled, with a proliferation of dendronephythya alcyonarians in various pastel colours of lemon, lavender and antique rose overflowing down to the next level, harks back to the mythological Babylonian gardens after which it is named.
To the underwater photographers out there, take a close look at the alcyonarians and gorgonian fans which adorn the wall - among them you'll find various microlife nestling in its branches and polyps.
Within the cavities and crevices on the wall, you'll find colonies of sweetlips, gobies, hawkfish, emperor angelfish, moray eels and coral groupers lurking around. Turtles are a common sighting at this Sipadan Island diving site; in particular, green turtles and imbricate turtles. Don't be surprised if you come across dozens of ribbontail stingrays as well.
Spend some time watching out towards the open sea as well, where you'll find schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks, grey reef sharks, and occasionally, if you're lucky, the extremely rare thresher shark, or fox shark. If you do come across it, the thresher shark, with its long upper tail which it uses to beat or thrash its prey, is a difficult sight to miss.
Hanging Gardens Reef Basics: Wall dive along a vertical drop-off
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 20 - 30m
Currents: Gentle
Surface Conditions: Calm
Water Temperature: 28 - 30°C
Experience Level: Beginner - advanced
Diving Season: All year round
PADI Course Compatibility: Great for underwater naturalist and videography
Distance: ~ 1 km southwest of the jetty (5 mins), 15 km south of Mabul Jetty (15 mins)
Access: Boat dive from Pulau Sipadan or Mabul and Kapalai dive resorts
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Sipadan Island
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Mabul Island
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