Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DIVING DOS AND DON'TS
Divers can cause damage to reefs, sometimes inadvertently. Be aware of your fins because
they can break off coral heads that take years to re-grow. Don't grab coral to steady
yourself and always maintain good buoyancy control - colliding with a reef can be
destructive. Don't kick up sediment, which can choke and kill corals. For more information
about
reef conservation
efforts in the Philippines, check out
W
oceanheritage.com.ph,
the website of the Ocean Heritage Foundation, a local environmentalist group. Below is a
list of additional dos and don'ts:
•
Collecting aquatic life
Resist the temptation to take home corals or shells, and never
take souvenirs from wreck dives or remove anything dead or alive - except rubbish
- from the ocean.
•
Touching and handling aquatic life
For many organisms this is a terrifying and injurious
experience. Handling marine life is best left to people who have experience with the
creatures concerned.
•
Riding aquatic life
Hard to credit, but some divers still think it's a great lark to hang onto the
back of a turtle or manta ray. Simply put, there are no circumstances in which this is right.
•
Spear-fishing
This has been outlawed in the Philippines, and environmental groups are
increasingly reporting spear-fishers to the authorities for prosecution.
DIVING RESOURCES
Asia Divers
W
asiadivers.com. Thoroughly professional dive outfit
with an o
ce in Manila and a dive centre and accommodation in Puerto
Galera. Good people to learn with.
Divephil
W
divephil.com. Useful guide to scuba diving in the
Philippines, plus information about destinations and accommodation.
SeaQuest
W
seaquestdivecenter.net. Long-established operator with
centres in Bohol and Cebu, offering general diving advice, safaris, courses
and accommodation.
Underwater Threesome
W
uw3some.com. Online diving portal for
several organizations, including
Asian Diver
diving magazine and Scuba
Diver AustralAsia.
kind of infrastructure that exists in national parks in
the West. While the most popular climbs - Mount
Apo in Mindanao (see p.430) and Mount Pulag in
Mountain province (see p.169), for example - have
trails that are relatively easy to find and follow, it's
important to realize that for the most part trails are
generally poorly maintained and hardly marked, if
they're marked at all. There are seldom more than
a few (badly paid) wardens or rangers responsible
for huge tracts of land, and where accommodation
exists, it will be extremely basic. Some national
parks have administrative buildings where you
might be able to get a bed in a dorm for the night,
or where you can roll out a mattress or sleeping
bag on the floor. They may also have basic cooking
facilities, but the closest you'll get to a shower is
filling a bucket and washing outside. Deep within
park territory, the best you can hope for is a
wooden shack to shelter in for the night.
This lack of facilities means you'll need to hire a
reliable
guide
. Often, the place to make contact
with guides is the municipal hall in the barangay or
town closest to the trailhead.
Fees
range from
P800-1500 per day depending where you are, plus
food and water, which you'll have to bring with you
as it's unlikely you'll come across anywhere to buy
anything once you're on the trail.
There are some
outdoor shops
in big cities -
mainly Manila - where you can buy a basic frame-
tent for P3000 and a sleeping bag for P1500. Other
essentials such as cooking equipment, lanterns and
backpacks are also available, and you may be able
to rent some items, though the range of gear on
offer is limited even in the best shops.
Trekking and climbing
The Philippines offers plenty of opportunities to
explore pristine
wilderness
areas. Luzon, for
example, has the Sierra Madre (see p.157), rarely
visited by tourists and offering exhilarating trekking
through dense rainforest and across dizzying peaks.
In Bicol there are some terrific volcano climbs
(Mt Mayon and Mt Isarog, for instance; see p.219 &
p.213), while Mindoro, Palawan and the Visayas
between them have dozens of national parks,
heritage areas, wildlife sanctuaries and volcanoes.
Mount Kanlaon (see p.313), an active volcano in
Negros, is one of the country's more risky climbs,
while Mount Halcon (see p.252) on Mindoro offers
a raw, mesmerizing landscape of peaks, waterfalls
and jungle, typical of wilderness areas throughout
the archipelago.
The country actually has more than sixty
national
parks
and protected areas, but because funds for
their management are scarce, you won't find the
