Yap Caverns
Reef at the southern tip of Yap with caverns, canyons and walls, where skylights send sunbeams into long swim-throughs. Usually little or no current, so it is done as a static or slack-tide dive with up to about 90 minutes of bottom time; macro life at every depth and pelagics over the edge.
Facts
- Region: Micronesia – Yap, Pohnpei & Kosrae
- Area: Yap
- Depth: 3–30 m
- Level: intermediate
- Current: low
- Type: reef, cave, wall
- Coordinates: 9.41, 138.1 (approximate)
- Highlights: whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, eagle rays, bumphead parrotfish, hawksbill turtle, nudibranchs, ghost pipefish
- Permit: Yap's reefs and lagoon are held under customary village ownership, so diving needs the permission of the owning community, normally arranged by your dive operator. A 2017 conference presentation reported that operators pay villages access fees (e.g. US$300 per month for Goofnuw Channel, US$2 per diver at Stammtisch) and that other sites need permission but no payment. No official fee schedule could be found – ask your dive centre; the Yap Visitors Bureau can advise.
- Issuer / contact: Yap Visitors Bureau
- Phone: +691 350 5005
- Website: https://www.visityap.com
- phone from the Yap State Government notice; visityap.com blocked automated access, no official email confirmed; other notices list 350-2298
- Unverified: Position is approximate: no published GPS was found; the pin only places the site on the right part of Yap's reef (dive centre site maps are not machine-readable). Ask the dive centre for the exact mooring.
- Tips: Bring a torch for the swim-throughs and keep fins clear of the silt and the walls.