The Jewel in The Crown

’I have seen other places like Sipadan, 45 years ago, but now no more. Now we have foun an untouched piece of art.’’– Jacques Cousteau in his film Borneo: The Ghost of the Sea Turtle (1989)

Sipadan Island- The Jewel in the Crown as what it's mentioned. Just mention the word Sipadan in a room full of divers and watch what happens: Those that have been there will immediately start sharing stories of hammerhead sharks, massive barracuda and parrotfish schools, turtles, undersea caves and a reef wall reaching down to 600 metres. Those that haven’t experienced it yet, will get a dreamy expression on their faces.

Lying 35km south of Semporna, on Sabah’s mainland, like many tropical islands it is thickly forested and surrounded by sandy beaches. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the sea bed. The geographic position of the island puts it in the centre of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin. More than 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this richest of ecosystems. Sipadan is well known for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles which gather there to mate and nest and it is not unusual for a diver to see more than 20 turtles on each dive. Another unique feature to divers visiting here is the turtle tomb, an underwaterlimestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that became disoriented and then drowned.

Above water, the island is a covered in lush jungle and home to tropical birds such as kingfishers, sea-eagles, sunbirds, starlings and wood pigeons. There are also fruit bats and monitor lizards and at nightfall a turtle may come to lay her eggs on the beach while coconut crabs scurry into the water at the slightest sound. It was declared a bird sanctuary as early as 1933 and in 2004, all accommodation facilities on Sipadan were closed to further protect this pristine natural treasure. Divers are still easily able to enjoy the magic of underwater Sipadan. It is within minutes of the islands of Mabul and Kapalai half an hour from Semporna and just over an hour from the islands of Mataking and Pompong. Resorts and dive operators in these locations bring divers to Sipadan’s dive sites by boat on a daily basis.

Contact info@ultimatetourism.com to check out packages available for Sipadan Island.