Pulau Mabul (Mabul Island)

Mabul is an island off the south-eastern coast of Sabah in Malaysia. It first became popular due to its proximity to Sipadan Island. Few years back, it has gained its recognition as one of the best 'muck diving' sites in the world. Mabul Island is a small oval shaped island surrounded by sandy beaches and perched on the northwest corner of a larger two square kilometer reef.

It is more correctly recognised now that the reason for the quality of the MUCK Diving is simply a result of overfishing uses of cyanide and dynamite by the local people of this area. The reef is on the edge of the continental shelf and the seabed surrounding the reef slopes out to 25 to 30 m deep. There are several dive resorts operating on Mabul island.

Mabul is also renowned for its amazing array of macrolife, making it an underwater photographer’s dream location to capture some of the rarest ecological species on film. Flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopus, spike-fin gobies, frogfish and moray eels are just some of the spectacular critters you will encounter beneath the waters of Mabul. Although all the excitement is underwater, you can always set your scuba gear aside for a day to laze on Mabul’s soft sand to work on your tan. Needless to say, Mabul diving gives macro photographers some great opportunities to capture some extremely rare ecological species which have carved a niche for themselves in the underwater world around here. Look out for species like multicoloured nudibranches, ghost pipefish, devil scorpionfish, stonefish, mantis shrimps, mandarin fish, ribbon eels, snake eels, frogfish, seahorses and crocodile fish, all of which make these sites their home.

Since Mabul is considerably larger, and Sipadan Island is now protected from overnight stays, its profile has greatly increased and resort owners have been able to construct a much higher standard of accommodation, albeit within the constraints of a remote getaway. Due to its geographical position, the island of Mabul is open for scuba diving all year round, with April to October offering excellent weather conditions.