If you want to kill some time
after you had fun on the sanctuary and wants to try
something different or if your food are not cooked
yet . Then this is the good time to flex some muscle
and explore the island.
Their fish sanctuary is good not
too deep, you can even walk if you want. I never
seen so much colorful fish sliding in my hands
before just to have a piece of bread. We spent 2
hours wandering around the sanctuary. You have to
pay 50 pesos per head for the small banca boat....
Probably the best part of my
Bohol trip was to snorkel in Balicasag waters!
Gradually, the waters gets deeper until you come
across a great wall of coral reef, whose depth is
only referenced by the pitch black darkness looming,
plunging below.
Banca boats carrying the tourist
from Panglao Island stop at a spot outside the
sanctuary. Outrigger boatmen will then fetch the
tourists and bring them to the designated snorkeling
area. This service is an additional P100 per head,
including equipment....
After a few hours of snorkeling,
one will surely feel a need for a full meal (lunch)
at the beach. Food can be arranged on the spot with
the locals, usually delicious seafood dishes
(fishes, shrimps, seashells, etc.) with buco juice.
1.Black Forest - The Black Forest is
considered by many experienced divers to be the best
Balicasag Island has to offer. With green sea turtles and
schools of barracuda and jacks, the Black Forest is one of
the most bio diverse and vibrant sites in the Philippines.
The Black Forest is a hard coral slope down to 40m where you
can find a colony of garden eels. Medium to strong currents
make the Black Forest of Balicasag make is a great site for
a drift dive.
2.Divers' Heaven - Divers' Heaven may be
the most aptly named dive site we know of. The vertical drop
from 6m to 40m make Divers' Heaven a great wall dive- one of
many to be found while diving at Balicasag Island. Like most
of Balicasag Island, hard corals dominate the shallow areas.
You can commonly encounter such spectacular species as
Napoleon wrasse, scorpion fish, anglerfish, and angelfish.
3.Balicasag Cathedral - The Cathedral at
Balicasag is truly divine. You may encounter turtles,
triggerfish, puffer fish, and many others. The Balicasag
Cathedral wall has many whip corals, soft corals, and sea
fans. The 8m shallow area is dominated with copious hard
coral cover and reef fish. This makes the Cathedral a great
place for snorkelers and divers alike.
4.Balicasag Sanctuary - The Balicasag
Sanctuary is the protected area of Balicasag Island. This is
where you can expect to find hatchlings and many juvenile
species. The drop at this site runs from 4m to to 60m, so
you're diving over the deep blue, making it a true wall
dive. There are a few small caverns and at least one great
swim-through. There's also a school of big-eye jacks
numbering in the thousands.
Balic
