West Ridge
West Ridge is great for black corals, turtles, groupers etc.
Good for marine biology, snorkeling, free diving, underwater photography, wall dives, sharks.
West Ridge is Sipadan's western wall in its most generous mood: an 18–40 metre face with the island's standard-issue 30-metre visibility, known for its black coral stands, its steady turtle traffic and the groupers that hold the ledges like landlords. It reads as a checklist of what this island does — wall, sharks, photography, marine biology — and it's precisely that breadth that keeps it in the top-ten conversation.
Black coral thickets, longnose hawkfish territory
The black corals deserve their billing. On the deeper half of the ridge they grow in proper thickets — the dark, wiry forests that most divers only meet in books — and they anchor a distinctly West-Ridge atmosphere: slightly moodier light in the afternoons, big growth silhouetted against the blue, turtles materialising out of it like commuters from fog.
18–40 m: pick your depth, pick your dive
Because the profile spans 18 to 40 metres, the site scales to the diver: a stately mid-depth cruise shows most of the highlights, while the AOW envelope opens the black-coral floor. Free divers and surface watchers do surprisingly well here too on calm days — the upper wall starts shallow enough to admire from above.
West Ridge earned its place on our Top 10; contact us to make sure your Sipadan permit days include it — afternoons flatter it most.
Contact us to dive at West Ridge
- Depth
- 18-40 metres
- Visibility
- 30 metres (100 feet)
- Location
- West of Sipadan.
| 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!