Tubbataha Coral Reef, located in the Sulu Sea 150 kilometres southeast of Palawan Island, is part of the 968 square kilometres national park. It is also listed as one of the "New Seven Wonders of Nature". The name of the reef is derived from the two Samali words "tubba" and "taha", which together mean "long reef exposed at low tide".
The reef consists of two coral atolls separated by a deep 8-kilometre long strait. The smaller South Atoll is 5 kilometres long and 3 kilometres wide, while the North Atoll is 16 kilometres long and 5 kilometres wide. There is no permanent population on the reefs. Fishermen appear here only during fishing season, settling on small islets.
But the most frequent visitors to the park are undoubtedly tourists, primarily divers. The peak tourist season is March-June, when the sea is most calm. They get here by boat from the town of Puerto Princesa, on the island of Palawan. The journey takes about 12 hours. Tubbataha is considered the best dive site in the Philippine archipelago, and the tourist boats operating there, equipped with diving equipment, are booked up to a year in advance.
Popularity of the reef among divers brought its "coral walls" - places where the the reef suddenly steepens into deeper water. These walls attract not only tourists, but also a variety of marine life, most notably colonies of of tropical fish. You can see giant carrunks, hammerhead sharks, barracudas, manta rays, Moorish idols, Napoleon fish and moray eels. The waters of the marine reserve whale sharks and tiger sharks occasionally appear in the waters of the marine reserve. It's also home are home to the endangered Biss sea turtle. And on a small island off the southern tip of South Atoll is home to a variety of nesting seabirds.
In total, there are about 1000 species of different inhabitants on the reef, many of which are rare or vulnerable. Multicoloured corals cover more than 2/3 of the park, and the waters around the reef are teeming with sea creatures. In terms of its biodiversity of Tubbataha can rival that of the famous Great Barrier Reef. In 1993, the reef was listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
