Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Dilumacad, also known as Helicopter Island for its shape, sits near El Nido in Palawan, Philippines, within the Bacuit archipelago. The site is built around a cave feature with an overhead environment, and divers have reported that a flashlight is needed to navigate it. Diving here is rated intermediate, with depths reaching around 15 metres. Divers have reported a wide range of reef fish around the site, including black damsels, blackpatch triggerfish, eightband butterflyfish, fusiliers, longfin emperors, Moorish idols, pipefish, ocellaris and tomato clownfish, titan triggerfish, and Loch's chromodoris nudibranchs, and there have even been reports of whale sharks passing through.
AI overviewMarine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Tomato ClownfishAmphiprion frenatusReported here · unconfirmed
Ocellaris AnemonefishAmphiprion ocellarisReported here · unconfirmed
Moorish IdolZanclus cornutusReported here · unconfirmed
Eightband ButterflyfishChaetodon octofasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
Loch's ChromodorisChromodoris lochiReported here · unconfirmed
Longfin EmperorLethrinus erythropterusReported here · unconfirmed
Black DamselNeoglyphidodon melasReported here · unconfirmed
Titan TriggerfishBalistoides viridescensReported here · unconfirmed
Blackpatch TriggerfishRhinecanthus verrucosusReported here · unconfirmed
PipefishPipefishReported here · unconfirmed
FusilierFusilierReported here · unconfirmed
Whale SharkRhincodon typusReported here · unconfirmed
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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