Coron and the Calamianes Wrecks

A Japanese Fleet Sunk In One Air Raid In September 1944, And A Karst Island Whose Lakes Belong To The Tagbanua · Coron, Palawan

CORON IS TWO THINGS AT ONCE. UNDERWATER IT IS A GRAVEYARD: ON 24 SEPTEMBER 1944 A UNITED STATES CARRIER RAID CAUGHT A JAPANESE FLEET SHELTERING IN THESE BAYS AND SANK IT, and around a dozen ships now lie in divable depths, upright, penetrable and covered in coral. THEY ARE WAR GRAVES AS WELL AS DIVE SITES and the better operators say so. ABOVE THE WATER IT IS BLACK KARST - Coron Island's cliffs drop straight into the sea and hold lakes inside them. KAYANGAN LAKE IS REACHED BY A STEEP CLIMB OVER A RIDGE AND IS ROUTINELY CALLED THE CLEANEST LAKE IN THE COUNTRY; BARRACUDA LAKE HAS A THERMOCLINE where the water jumps to something near bath temperature partway down, which is genuinely strange to swim through. CORON ISLAND IS TAGBANUA ANCESTRAL DOMAIN and they control the access. The fees at each lake go to the community and some lakes are closed to outsiders entirely, which is a decision rather than a gap in the itinerary. Take the first boat out.

Coron Bay and Busuanga, Calamianes Islands, Palawan, Coron, Palawan, Philippines

CORON TOWN IS ON BUSUANGA ISLAND, reached by FLIGHTS INTO FRANCISCO B REYES AIRPORT from Manila and Cebu - about forty minutes by road from the town - or by FERRY FROM EL NIDO, which takes several hours and is weather-dependent. EVERYTHING IS DONE BY OUTRIGGER DAY TOUR, sold as set circuits leaving mid-morning. SEPARATE ENTRY FEES ARE CHARGED AT EACH LAKE AND BEACH by the TAGBANUA COMMUNITY, who hold ancestral domain over Coron Island; SOME LAKES ARE CLOSED TO OUTSIDERS ENTIRELY and that is their decision, not an oversight. WRECK DIVING NEEDS AN OPERATOR AND, FOR PENETRATION, ADVANCED CERTIFICATION. KAYANGAN IS REACHED BY A STEEP CLIMB over a ridge and back down. TOURS ARE CANCELLED IN ROUGH WEATHER. Go out early; the lakes are small and fill quickly.

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