Let's Travel Amazing Places!: Tubbataha Reef

Friday, May 15, 2009

Tubbataha Reef

A candidate for the New Seven Wonders of the World is the protected marine sanctuary Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park in the province of Sulu. Known as one of the most famous diving sites in the world, it truly captivates divers with its beautiful and rich marine life and its virgin marine ecosystem.

When I first saw and heard about Tubbataha Reef as a featured site at the Probe Team TV documentary several years ago, I did not think that it was in the Philippines. Ironically for a Filipino like me.

Now, I feel that I should be proud to blog such a scenic spot here in the Philippines. It is an amazing place...

An article from www.tubbatahareef.org says, “The name 'Tubbataha' is a Samal word for "long reef exposed at low tide". Samals are seafaring people of the Sulu Sea. Cagayanen people who are more geographically associated with Tubbataha Reefs referred the Park as 'gusong'… The park is an underwater sanctuary where nature can thrive. Tubbataha is the Philippines' only marine natural Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a place of global importance, being preserved for generations to come.”

Rising from the volcanic depths of the Sulu Sea in the western Philippines, these magnificent Tubbataha Reefs serve as a habitat for an amazing diversity of marine life. The article further says, “…From majestic whale sharks to elusive seahorses -Tubbataha supports an unparalleled variety of marine creatures. Colorful reef fish crowd corals growing in the shallows while sharks and manta rays haunt the steep drop offs to the open sea”.

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to no less than:

573 species of fish
379 species of corals (about half of all coral species in the world)
11 species of sharks (including endangered ones)
12 species of dolphins & whales

Nesting Hawksbill & Green sea turtles
Over 100 species of birds find refuge in Tubbataha Reef National Park's Bird Island. Near to it is a ship wreck, which gives clues to its long historic past.

Sadly, diving is not for me. I can swim with floaters especially using big rubber interior of truck wheels but diving with floaters is ridiculously impossible.