Layang Layang

Lying in the South China Sea, 300 kilometres northwest of Kota Kinabalu. is the atoll of Layang Layang, or 'Swallows Reef'. Originally constructed for the Malaysian Navy, Layang Layang Island Resort is now a dive resort, offering pristine conditions and excellent visibility.

The resort is closed during the monsoon months of October to January.

Layang Layang has a much deserved reputation as one of the world's top ten dive locations, with steep walls dropping to 2,000 metres and regular sightings of pelagics, with resident schools of Barracuda and Big Eye Trevally and frequently seen Green, and Hawksbill Turtles. Corals are plentiful and healthy, with sea fans more than three metres across filtering plankton from passing currents. The twenty metre deep lagoon offers some great pelagics, including sea horses, cuttlefish and pipefish, but it is the pelagics visiting the outer walls that truly excite divers. Schools of Scalloped Hammerhead, Grey Reef, Leopard, and the occasional Threshers, and Silver Tip Sharks can all be seen.

Sting Rays are also regular visitors including Pygmy Devil, Marbled, and Eagle Rays. Rare sightings such as Whale Sharks, Orcas and Melon headed Whales have all been seen over the last few years. Spinner and Bottlenose Dolphins frequently follow the dive boats and divers are sometimes rewarded by snorkelling and diving with these amazing creatures.