Why is diving on Sipadan so great?

Before I post all my pictures of it, I'll explain why. Recently Sipadan has been protected, the resorts were all kicked off the island and a permit is now needed to come within a mile of it. Only a hundred permits are issued per day which means getting there can be difficult and requires reservations well in advance. (I was lucky and spent 3 days, 9 dives at Sipadan.) But there are nearly 25 islands off the coast of Semporna, including the famous muck-diving spot of Mabul; what's the big deal about Sipadan?

Aside from Sipadan's magnificent corals, what it's really known for is the big stuff. Hawksbill and green sea turtles are swim in such great number it's not worth trying to count how many you see per dive. White-tip and grey reef sharks are also every present. Huge schools of jackfish and barracuda swim and circle around certain spots. Then there's always the potential for seeing manta rays, whale sharks, or what everyone would really, really love to see: a school of hammerheads.

























On this map is labeled the town of Semporna and the most famous of the numerous islands around it. What this map shows is that Mabul, Kapalai, and Mataking all sit in the "shallow" water, where as Sipadan sits alone (southern-most island on the map), out in the depths. This means that off of its reefs the drop off is drastic, and much, much deeper than that of any other island in the area. In these depths are where the big sea creatures lurk and every so often they will swim along the tall sea walls of Sipadan. The lucky divers are 30 meters deep, off from the wall, and looking out into the blue when these huge rays and sharks happen to cruise near the reef.

This is no short drop off either. This chart shows how Sipadan juts out from the bottom of the ocean, nearly a thousand meters straight up. Mabul by contrast sits in extremely shallow water. Sipadan is a topographicall freak of nature and as such is on every list of the Top 10 dive sites of the world.

My Photos of the Island
The main beach at Sipadan. Those with permits to dive the island are only allowed on a couple hundred meters of the beach.
Taken from the bow of the boat, here's Sipadan's drop off at the dive site Coral Gardens. Out in the deep blue, two DMTs do their swim tests, floating in the water for 15 minutes.