Subic Bay, located on the island of Luzon, has always attracted attention as a good location for military bases. In 1885, the first military base was built here by the Spanish. A couple of years later, however, control of the Philippines was taken over by the Americans and they took over the place. During World War II, the Japanese were able to capture Subic Bay, but immediately after its end the Americans returned and rebuilt the largest military base outside the United States on the shores of the bay. It wasn't until 1992 that the Philippine government decided to to close American bases throughout the country, and the star-spangled flag over Subic Bay was lowered. Today, the bay primarily attracts divers from all over the world, who come here in search of sunken ships dating back to the American-Spanish and World War II. You can get to the bay from Manila - the journey will take from 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
Among the most popular dive sites in the bay - the remains of a Japanese merchant ship "the Oreku Maru, known as the Hell Ship. The ship was converted to transport prisoners of war and labourers taken by the Japanese from the occupied territories. It was sunk by the Americans in 1944 with over 1,500 people on board. After the war, American military divers blew up the ship for navigational safety.
Another interesting ship resting on the bottom of Subic Bay is the cruiser "New York," built in 1891. At various times it took part in the the Chinese Revolution, the Philippine-American War and World War I. Since the late 1930s, the cruiser was stationed in the bay, but with the outbreak of World War II it was sunk by the Americans, who feared the ship's guns might fall into the hands of the of the Japanese. Today you can see colonies of grouper, lobster, wings and barracuda.
Another popular dive spot is the ship "El Capitan", whose bow is at a at a depth of just five metres. And the oldest ship sunk in the waters of the bay is the Spanish gunboat San Quintin - it was sent to the bottom in 1898 by the Spaniards themselves, who were thus trying to block the passage between the islands of the bay for American warships. In addition to the ships at Subic Bay, you can see the remains of an F-4 Phantom jet. And, of course, you shouldn’t walk, or rather swim, past the coral reefs - they are especially good near Grande Island and in Triboa Bay.
Residents of Manila love to come to the shores of Subic Bay to relax - in addition to diving, here you can simply laze on the sandy beaches, visit an underwater aquarium, go on a tour of mangrove forests or stroll through numerous duty-free shopping centers. Wildlife lovers will also have something to do in Subic Bay - among the animals living here you can find the smallest Philippine bat - the bamboo bat, and the golden-headed flying fox, the giant pteroptera and wild boars, rare species of Asian monkeys and about 300 species of birds!
