Close your eyes and imagine a silver ringed patch of emerald lying in the middle of an iridescent sea of blue green that gradually deepens into a rich indigo - and in your minds eye, you see the island of Sipadan, world famous for its spectacular diving locales and its awesome marine life.

Barely 12 hectares in area, Sipadan lies in the Sulawesi Sea or the Celebes Sea, off the coast of Sabah on mainland Borneo. Pulau Sipadan is a coral island - in the true sense of the term as it was formed by layers upon layers of coral that grew on the walls of a submarine extinct volcano. The volcano rises as high as 600m from its base on the floor of the sea. The island’s proximity to the continental shelf creates sharp inclines and declines in the floor of the sea, which provide nesting places for myriad species of fish and other marine creatures. At some places, the seabed drops to depths of 2,850ft and one such drop is barely 15ft from the beach. The sheer precipitation and depth turns the clear water into a dark, almost mysterious black green. The sun’s rays don’t quite reach this far down and it is impossible to see without artificial light, thus adding to the difficulty and danger for divers. That is also one of the reasons why Sipadan Island has been nominated amongst the world’s and certainly South East Asia’s best dive spots.

Sipadan Island is fortuitously located in one of the most ecologically rich marine habitats in the world. The warm tropical waters of the Celebes Sea host the complete range of marine life - richly hued corals, reef fish in a mind-boggling variety of shape, size and colour. The staggering variety of more than 3000 species of fish and 70 of coral includes such denizens of the deep as staghorn, plate, boulder and table corals, barracudas, jacks, sharks, large sea turtles of the Green and Hawksbill species, huge sea fans, gigantic barrel sponges, white tip reef sharks, nurse sharks, giant trevalleys and gigantic whale sharks; shoals of clownfish, zebra lionfish, angel fish, mandarin fish, dragonets, fire gobies, partner and sleeper gobies, wasp or leaf fish, gurnards plus seamoth, crocodile fish, giant frogfish, eels and manta rays in bright blues and orange crowd the waters and seem to be as interested in the divers as they are about the fish! The marine life around the Sipadan Island makes it the equivalent of the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) in terms of species diversity.

Deep sea divers and professionals photographers come to Sipadan, drawn by the numerous dive sites that lie a short distance from the main island - Hanging Gardens, Barracuda Point, Turtle Cavern or Skeleton Cave with its pitiful remains of dead turtles. The last is one amongst a labyrinth of underwater limestone caves. Many diving schools operate on Sipadan offering novices the necessary training for dives. These schools also offer the services of professional guides, boats and scuba gear.

When to go: The best time to visit the island - particularly for diving- is between February and December. This is mainly because in these months visibility is best - ranging from 60 to 200 feet. For wildlife enthusiasts, a good time is between April and September, the breeding season for the turtles who come ashore to nest and lay their eggs on the soft Sipadan sand. Late December, January and till mid February is the peak monsoon season - to be strictly avoided.

Getting There: Malaysian Airlines has daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. From there on, it involves a trip to either Tawau or Semporna and a boat ride before the journey ends at Sipadan. Singapore Airlines also flies to Kota Kinabalu.

Accommodation: To ensure the island and the reefs precious ecology is neither endangered nor subject to degradation by an onslaught of tourists, the Government has strict rules with regard to the number of visitors permitted at any given time. All bookings have to be made well in advance as only a few visitors/divers can stay on the island. Happily, no such restrictions apply to diving and as many as three trips a day are commonly taken. Accommodation is basic but comfortable - beach huts with attached bathrooms and air conditioning! The food served depends largely on availability of fresh produce - all of which is brought in from outside. The menus feature Western, Chinese and local Malay dishes - cooked with unbelievably fresh and succulent seafood.

For detailed country and visitor information, see  Malaysia.