Mantabuan Island, located behind the ancient volcano of Bohedulang, can be reached within app. 40min from Semporna. It‘s best dive site, the Black Coral Forest, can be found at the end of a gentle slope at a depth 25m-30m. Here the precious coral can be found huge bushes, ranging from white to neon green to purple in colour. Turtles often can be found resting there, and whenever the current picks up eagle rays can be spotted overhead. The huge coral boulders at shallower depth are excellent places to look for lobsters, frogfish and a large variety of other coral fish. At nearby Mantabuan 2, an underwater mountain that raises from 60m to a depth of 10m below the surface, some of the best soft coral and large table coral can be found, often with nurse sharks or blue spotted stingrays resting underneath. Dive sites further to the north and west of the island on the other hand are great to look for turtles, barracudas and a wide variety of smaller critters.

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