Turtle Cavern
Turtle Cavern is one of the highlights of Sipadan island thanks to its incredible geological formations and turtle skeletons.
About 18m deep is the entrance to Turtle Cave. The cave first goes down in a bell shaped descent tunnel and leads to the lower chamber. Following the left side of the cavern will bring you in front of a tunnel. This tunnel is connecting Turtle Cavern with Turtle Tomb a small cave system which contains many turtle skeletons. This is due to the great number of turtles that simply enter the cave and are unable to find the exit .
This dive needs an experienced guide and special equipment.
Turtle Cavern is Sipadan's haunted cathedral. The entrance opens off the wall at about 18 metres — a bell-shaped descent tunnel leading down into a lower chamber — and inside, in the torch-lit stillness, lie the turtle skeletons that made this cave famous: animals that wandered in over the decades, lost the exit in the dark, and stayed. It is sobering, spectacular and unlike any other dive on the island; the geology alone — sculpted chambers inside a reef that rises from 600 metres of open water — would justify the visit.
Cavern rules
The rules matter here, and we state them plainly: this is an overhead environment, entered only with the qualified guides under the island's arrangements, with proper lights and briefing — never independently. The cavern rewards exactly the divers who respect it: calm finning, tight buoyancy, and the discipline to look with lights rather than touch. (The deeper system beyond, Turtle Tomb, is full cave-diving territory.)
Cavern training required — is this dive for you?
Is it for you? If you're a comfortable, well-controlled diver with the guides' green light — yes, emphatically: it's one of the island's defining experiences. If overhead environments aren't your idea of a holiday, the wall outside the entrance is world-class anyway, and watching the doorway from open water has its own drama.
We can set up a Sipadan itinerary that includes the cavern properly, with guides, timing and permits all arranged.
Contact us to dive at Turtle Cavern
- Depth
- 14-23 metres
- Visibility
- 30 metres (100 feet)
- Location
- East of The Jetty.
| 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!