The Reef

Apo Reef Natural Park · The Second Largest Coral Reef in the World


Two shots of Lighthouse at The Apo Reef Natural Park.

About the Reef
One of the dive sites frequented by most divers in Occidental Mindoro is the Apo Reef. It is acclaimed as the best in Asia and second largest in the world, and as the diving mecca of the Philippines.

It is a 34-kilometer reef, located 20 miles west of Mindoro proper, with a narrow channel running east to west, dividing this reef into two lagoon systems, north and south. Underneath, the clean waters, fine white sand, and numerous corals are visible.

The Apo Reef Marine Park includes the fascinating bird-populated islands of Binangaan and Caios del Bajo, which have a variety of birds that can irresistibly lure birdwatchers. The surrounding waters are abundant with marine fauna and luxuriant coral growth represented by approximately 400-500 kaleidoscopic coral species. Marine life includes varieties of sharks, stingrays, and manta rays. There are over 500 species.

Note · This write-up is taken from the official website of the Philippine Tourism. For further details you may visit:
www.tourism.gov.ph Or you may also read or download the The Reef's detailed profile in PDF format from www.aseanbiodiversity.org

About Our Experience
Our only vision of the famous Apo Reef is its photos found across the internet. And ironically, most of the sources are not Asian, but European, particularly German and French.

We were actually excited to get there. We were scheduled to go there Thursday and leave the next day. But before that day came, we already spent a day at the paradisaical Pandan Island. And we thought that if Pandan has it, would there be more at Apo Reef?

We left DJ Beach Resort at around 5.00 am to go to Pondohan, the terminal for boats going to Apo Reef. We left Pondohan at 5.15 am. As we were leaving, each of the crew were introduced to us by Ogie, our tour guide for Apo Reef. We were informed that when we cannot anymore see the Island of Mindoro, we are already half-way to the Largest Reef in Asiathe second in the world. It would take more or less three hours of travel.

We actually slept on the first hour. By the time I and Lekoi woke up, the Island of Mindoro was already too small to be seen. The breeze was of course pleasurable to the sensation. Few minutes more as we look back to where we came from, Mindoro was not anymore visible. What we saw was a straight line surrounding us. The sky was clear and Blue. It was BEAUTIFUL! Really Comely and Exhilarating. As we speedily cruised the open sea, we saw schools of Flying Fish! We saw a big one which came from under us, it flew high and its flight was long. And we saw lots of them all around.

As we were nearing The Reef, I suddenly felt the excitement when I saw a small but familiar figure of the White Lighthouse! I pointed it to them, they got excited too. But as our boat cruised nearer and nearer we noticed that the waters---the OPEN SEA---was strangely calm and undisturbed despite the presence of the wind. From our vantage point, the sea looks like glass! So clear and still! It was a strange experience. We were there out in the open sea and its waters are still. Strange indeed!



Our fascination escalated more and more when we saw the splendid arrays of Corals under us! It was an impressive display of corals after corals. We got so excited that we don't even know what to do! We stood then we looked down. Then sit and looked down again. Then we changed places then sit and looked, stood and looked. Maybe each one of us had that feeling of wanting to already dive and start the fun!

Upon our arrival, we were welcomed by Medel, the very friendly Tourism Officer and we were introduced to the Apo Reef Team stationed in that island.





The first fun we did was to go to the Mangrove to spot a Manta Ray or a Pawikan. Even though we were not able to spot one of them, we still enjoyed the sight of the mangrove.






Afterwards, we went straight to the highest lighthouse I've ever seen. We called it the White Lighthouse, obviously we named it after its colour. If you think it's already beautiful on the outside, it is equally beautiful on the inside. We climbed up to the middle section, it was actually a thrilling experience. And up there? Let me tell you, the view from this place was so ELATING. We don't want to go down anymore! We even planned to comeback the next day.









Before we took lunch, we were asked if we want to join snorkelling with the balsa or raft. The raft can accommodate 12 people. Well, it was not really a raft but it was just a raft without the flat surface but only the skeleton. It was my first time to snorkel without having the effort to do it since the raft is being drawn slowly by an outrigger boat. It was splendid! Splendid indeed! We snorkelled for one-and-a-half hours! We just held to one of its poles. We did not even noticed the time.

We also enjoyed the night. We had our group devotion first then we slept in tents. Of course, the women in the Pink tent and the men in the Blue tent. By the way, the moon was so beautiful! She provided us with her bright light.

We rose very early in the morning just to spot a Pawikan. We were unsuccessful. Later while we were preparing lunch, we heard that this gentle creature were spotted the night before just near our tent. Ahhh! We missed the opportunity! Anyway, we still managed to enjoy the dawning of the Morning Sun. The sky was painted in Violet!






After enjoying the view of the sky, we ate breakfast and off we went to the sea again---this time without the raft. The scenes were too beautiful! Schools after schools of fishes just passed by! Fishes of different colours, sizes, and even movements can be seen all around and I am NOT exaggerating! It is true! Angel Fish, Lion Fish, Nemo and Friends, there were just too many to tell!

To continue.... there were also Barracudas! Clams of different sizes and colours! Soft and hard corals! You name it Apo has it! Normally you'll just see Brown and Green corals, here you will see Violet, Blue, and Red! Ohh my! If you want to take a short rest, you'll just have to find a hard coral to step on, once you enter the Coral Zone you won't anymore see a portion of sand, all corals of great varieties occupy this part of the sea! One amazing thing was that we did not see urchins, not even one. Apo Reef is indeed a Coral Paradise!








Before we got there, we just looked at Apo Reef from the images of photographs, this time---the images were alive and we were enjoying every minute of it. God has really blessed our retreat, and we are thankful for the beautiful living memories of His creation!










How to Get There
I can only provide you with instructions if you're coming from Manila. Follow the steps below:

[1.] Take a provincial bus line, Jam or BLTB, going to Batangas Pier. Fare costs 154 pesos, travel time is less than 3 hours if you travel late at night.

[2.] Upon arrival at the Pier, go inside the pier station and proceed to the ticketing station of the Montenegro Shipping Lines and pay 160 pesos for the ticket fare going to Abra de Ilog. Travel time is about 3 hours.
Schedule of trips is as follows: 4.00 am, 12.00 pm, and 4.00 pm. These are departure time. Boarding time is at least 30 minutes before departure.

[3.] Upon arriving Abra de Ilog, find a van that will go to Sablayan. It is very important to be fast, because you might be left behind. Fare costs 210 pesos. Travel time is about 3 hours. By the way, the road to Sablayan is rough.

[4. ] Upon arriving Sablayan, tell the driver to drop you off at the Town Plaza. When you get there, the Eco Tourism Office can be easily spotted. Go to the office and make the necessary arrangement for your trip to Apo Reef. You may contact them ahead of time through this mobile number +63.(0910).467.49.15, and then look for one of the following personnel: Angie, Sylvia, Ogie, or Medel. This is where you also make arrangements for renting tents, diving masks, snorkels, scuba gears, and other stuffs that you may need during your stay at The Reef.

Another contact person that could help you is Mr. Rey Daño, from DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources). His mobile number is +63.(0927).504.59.58.

Note · The instructions end here since they will be the ones making and giving instructions to you concerning your trip to The Reef.