Attraction

Cathedral Dive Site

Cathedral is a wall dive at Balicasag, good even for snorkelling, for PADI Open Water divers and up; 12–25 m visibility, 3–45 m depth, most interesting at 20 m. Caves catch shafts of light on clear days.

Cathedral Dive Site

Type: dive-site

Overview

Cathedral is a wall dive at Balicasag Island, off the coast of Panglao, Bohol. It is accessible to PADI Open Water divers and above, and the shallow sections are also suitable for snorkeling.

Visibility ranges from 12 to 25 meters. The wall runs from 3 to 45 meters, with the most interesting section at 20 meters — below 30 meters the wall becomes less varied. The site is not affected by dynamite fishing.

The dive takes its name from the cathedral-like effect produced when shafts of light pass into the cave openings and overhangs along the wall on bright days. The wall features large overhangs, ledges, and gaps that create this layered interior light quality.

Location

Balicasag Island, off the southwestern coast of Panglao Island, Bohol. Balicasag is a small island approximately 8 km from Panglao and accessible by pump boat in roughly 30 to 45 minutes.

Getting There

From Alona Beach on Panglao Island, arrange a pump boat to Balicasag Island. Most dive operators on Alona Beach offer scheduled trips to Balicasag. The Cathedral site is accessible directly from the island’s dive entry points.

[TO ENRICH: GPS coordinates for the Cathedral site specifically, mooring buoy availability.]

Practical Info

  • Gateway: Panglao
  • Island: Balicasag Island
  • Dive type: Wall
  • Difficulty: PADI Open Water and above
  • Visibility: 12–25 m
  • Depth: 3–45 m (most interesting at 20 m)
  • Current: 0–3
  • Snorkeling: Yes
  • Dynamite fishing impact: None

What to Expect

Begin the dive with the wall on the left shoulder, heading southwest. Yellow bucket sponges occupy the overhangs; large, colorful sea fans cover the wall faces.

Fish life includes: Barracuda, Angelfish, Snubnose Drummer (Kyphosus cinerascens) in the shallows; Big-mouth Mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) in open water off the wall; Golden Sergeant (Amblyglyphidodon aureus), Midnight Snapper (Macolor macularis), Pyramid Butterflyfish (Hemitaurichthys polylepis), and One-spot Snapper (Lutjanus monostigma) close to the wall.

Notes

  • The Danajon Bank (Double Barrier Reef) is the broader reef system in this region of Bohol.
  • Cathedral is often paired with other Balicasag dive sites in a single-day multi-dive itinerary.
  • The site is not so much below 30 m — most marine interest concentrates between 10 and 25 m.

Explore Panglao: Bohol's Busiest Beach and Dive Municipality

More to see in this area

The Alona Beach strip in Panglao municipality viewed from the water, dive boats anchored over the house reef with beachfront resorts and coconut palms along the shoremunicipality

Panglao: Bohol's Busiest Beach and Dive Municipality

Panglao is the island municipality behind Alona Beach and Bohol's reef diving, joined to the mainland by two bridges and drawing the largest share of the province's foreign tourist arrivals.

Best: Dec–Apr

More attractions in Panglao: Bohol's Busiest Beach and Dive Municipality

Other things to see nearby

Arco Point Dive Sitedive-site

Arco Point Dive Site

Arco Point is an easy wall-and-slope dive off Panglao for PADI Open Water divers and up, with 10–25 m visibility and depths of 4–27 m. It is most interesting at 10–15 m and is unaffected by dynamite fishing.

  • Balicasag Island Diving — Balicasag Island, a marine sanctuary off Panglao, offers vertical walls over deep water with strong currents, healthy corals and pelagic visitors; December–January can bring hammerhead and occasional whale sharks.
  • BBC Dive Site — BBC is a boat-access reef-and-wall dive off Panglao; the top reef averages 110 m wide and the wall ends around 18 m, with sponges, brown daisy corals, gorgonians, pygmy seahorses and schools of sergeant majors. Good for check-up dives and skills training.