Sipadan
Turtle Cavern & Turtle Tomb (Sipadan)
- Max depth30 m
- CertificationFull cave
Diving and fills
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What it looks like
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Videos and posts
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Other people's footage, not advice: how someone else dives here says nothing about what suits your team. Dive within your training.
The dive
From the reef wall you swim into a bell-shaped tunnel that descends to a chamber with stalactites over a floor of fine white sand.
1 earlier accident or incident has been reported at this cave. Read what happened ↓
Profile and sections
From the reef wall you swim into a bell-shaped tunnel that descends to a chamber with stalactites over a floor of fine white sand. Beyond it the cave becomes a maze of chambers and passages, with the skeletons of green sea turtles on the floor, some almost intact, and in one corner the skeleton of a dolphin. Visibility is 10–30 m, 20 m on average, as long as nobody stirs up the sand.
The turtles probably swim in by accident, lose their way in the dark and drown. Jacques Cousteau visited Sipadan with his team for a documentary and suggested that old turtles came here to die. According to Wikipedia the tomb lies under the island's column.
Practical: you dive Sipadan only with a permit through a resort or dive centre, and a Sipadan day often has to be arranged well ahead. In 2015 Seaventures ran the PADI Cavern Diver course with dives in the cave.
- Depth and profile
- Plan for ~30 m: SSI gives that as the maximum dive depth, Sabah Parks allows up to 40 m at Sipadan. The entrance is at ~18–21 m; inside 14–23 m (sipadan.com), the floor at ~22 m (duikersgids.nl). A bell-shaped tunnel descends to the lower chamber; on the left a passage leads to Turtle Tomb, with side tunnels. According to a dive report a dolphin skeleton lies ~150 m in, and after a narrow gap of ~25–30 m comes the tomb's round hall (to ~15 m).
- Configuration
- Cave equipment with a primary light, backup lights and a reel (the sources speak of 'special equipment'); one dive report describes sidemount with lines laid. Configurations are an estimate.
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 30 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
Boat dive from your resort on Mabul, Kapalai or in Semporna, with a Sabah Parks permit for Sipadan. The entrance is in the reef wall a few metres to the right (east) of the jetty, at the Drop-Off site. Go inside only with a cave certification and a guide who knows the cave; a warning sign stands at the entrance.
Around Turtle Cavern & Turtle Tomb (Sipadan)
FillsNo fill station known nearby
News
All (1)
Accidents and incidents
What happened at this cave before, with the sources. No names are given; read it as a lesson for your own planning.
- Undercurrent reported in 1995 a Japanese diver who swam into a cavern along Sipadan's wall on a night dive, got lost and drowned; warning signs were put up at the cave entrance afterwards.
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines. Search for more news ↗ Searched automatically, last on 5 Nov 2026.
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