Staghorn Crest
Staghorn Crest is a great coral garden in the shallows followed by a 15m deep plateau.
Staghorn Crest, northwest of South Point, is the gentle counterweight in Sipadan's rotation: a superb shallow coral garden rolling down to a plateau at about 15 metres, dived in the island's trademark 30-metre visibility. The name describes the terrain honestly — thickets of staghorn coral in the shallows, branch on branch, sheltering the dense small-fish neighbourhoods that make gardens like this hum: damsels defending territories the size of dinner plates, anthias in their orange weather, juveniles of everything using the branches as nursery bars.
The 15 m plateau: turtles in the staghorn
The plateau adds the second gear. Fifteen metres is where the turtles rest and the whitetips park, and the flat topography makes it one of Sipadan's easiest sites to navigate and to photograph — no wall pulling you deep, no current management, just time and light. It's the site we recommend for the day's second or third tank, for newer AOW divers finding their Sipadan feet, and for anyone whose computer needs a kinder profile after a deep morning.
Snorkellers and free divers, take note: the shallow garden here is genuinely worth the boat seat even without a tank.
Staghorn Crest rotates through the standard permit day. Contact us to plan yours — and pair it with South Point next door for the island's best deep-then-shallow double.
Contact us to dive at Staghorn Crest
- Depth
- 40m 131ft
- Visibility
- 30 metres (100 feet)
- Location
- Northwest of South Point.
| Dive site | Min depth | Max depth | Level | Dive Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barracuda Point | 5m 16ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef |
| Coral gardens | 10m 33ft | 23m 75ft | OW | Wall, Reef |
| Hanging Gardens | 5m 16ft | 40m 131ft | OW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| Lobster lairs | 25m 82ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef, Big Fishes |
| North Point | 25m 82ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Drift, Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| South Point | 20m 65ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef |
| Staghorn Crest | 20m 65ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| The Jetty | 3m 10ft | 40m 131ft | OW | Wall, Reef |
| Turtle Cavern | 14m 46ft | 23m 75ft | AOW | Cave, Reef |
| Turtle Patch | 5m 16ft | 12m 39ft | OW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| Turtle Tomb | 17m 56ft | 23m 75ft | Divemaster | Cave |
| West Ridge | 18m 59ft | 40m 131ft | OW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| Whitetip Avenue | 17m 56ft | 40m 131ft | OW | Wall, Reef, Sharks |
| Midreef | 5m 16ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef |
| The Drop Off | 5m 16ft | 40m 131ft | AOW | Wall, Reef |
Divers: book your Sipadan permits in advance!