Chapel Point
Apo Island · Philippines
Chapel Point is the shallow pinnacle reef on the western side of Apo Island, named for the small shrine visible on the cliff above. The reef here transitions from rubble and sand at 5 meters to a dense hard coral garden between 8 and 20 meters that hosts one of the most varied macro life assemblages on the island. Ornate ghost pipefish shelter in crinoids, frogfish sit motionless on sponges, and nudibranchs of multiple species are visible on almost every coral head. Deeper down, a school of resident big-eye trevally maintains its circular holding pattern near the point drop-off, and an occasional thresher or hammerhead has been logged passing through in the blue.
Conditions
Depth
5 to 30 m
Open water and up
Current
Usually gentle
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
15 to 22 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
26 to 30°C
3mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 |
| Vis (m) | 12 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Current | Gentle | Gentle | calm | calm | calm | Gentle | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Painted Frogfish
Photo: Marine Explorer (Dr John Turnbull) · CC BY-NC-SA
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Bigfin Reef Squid
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Ornate Ghost Pipefish
Photo: terence zahner · CC BY-NC
Rare
Now and then
Field journal
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