Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Layang Layang location page.
Overview
Vertical wall on the southwest corner of the Layang Layang atoll with a recess at 30 m where whitetip reef sharks rest in stacks. Beyond the wall, hammerhead schools cruise the blue in April and May.
Briefing note
Resort only open March to August; closed in monsoon season.
What you'll see
4 species curated- seasonalScalloped hammerheadPeak: Apr · May
- year-roundWhitetip reef shark
- year-roundGrey reef shark
- year-roundSchooling jacks
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- medium confidenceScalloped hammerhead
- Last confirmed
- May 2026
- Recent records
- 45 within 50 km
- Cluster months
- Apr, May
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Wildbook (Sharkbook, Whale Shark, Manta Matcher) — Wild Me
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27–29 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Feb | 27–29 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Mar | 28–30 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Apr | 28–30 °C | 30–50 m | moderate |
| May | 28–30 °C | 30–50 m | moderate |
| Jun | 28–30 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Jul | 28–30 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Aug | 28–30 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Sep | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Oct | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Nov | 27–29 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Dec | 27–29 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- SMB — Wall drift exits over open ocean.
- Dive computer — Watching hammerheads tempts you deep; track your profile.
Next step
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