Popolcan
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
Popolcan, also called Popolcan UW Forest, is a deep slope dive off El Nido, Palawan. The slope has pinnacles rising from a deep sandy bottom, and depths run from 10 to 35 metres. It is for experienced divers, and Advanced Open Water is the required level.
Table corals, branching colonies and soft coral patches cover the slope like a forest. Currents and visibility change from dive to dive.
Schools of fusiliers and surgeonfish sweep over the reef while anthias hover above the coral heads. The cracks and rubble zones hold nudibranchs, pipefish and decorator crabs, and eagle rays are a highlight. The open layout lets you pick different routes on one dive, good for both wide-angle and macro.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Blackpatch TriggerfishRhinecanthus verrucosusReported here · unconfirmed
Blue LinckiaLinckia laevigataReported here · unconfirmed
Moorish IdolZanclus cornutusReported here · unconfirmed
Tomato ClownfishAmphiprion frenatusReported here · unconfirmed
Ocellaris AnemonefishAmphiprion ocellarisReported here · unconfirmed
Boring Giant ClamTridacna croceaReported here · unconfirmed
Scissortail SergeantAbudefduf sexfasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
Eightband ButterflyfishChaetodon octofasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
Eastern Triangle ButterflyfishChaetodon baronessaReported here · unconfirmed
Bleeker's ParrotfishChlorurus bleekeriReported here · unconfirmed
NudibranchNudibranchReported here · unconfirmed
PipefishPipefishReported here · unconfirmed
Eagle rayEagle rayReported here · unconfirmed
FusilierFusilierReported here · unconfirmed
SurgeonfishSurgeonfishReported 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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