Siargao
Siargao, in Surigao del Norte province, is home to Cloud 9, the best known surfing break in the Philippines. It has the reputation of being one of the top Surfing Waves in the world.
The tear-drop shaped island is situated 800 kilometers southeast of Manila. It has a land mass of approximately 437 kilometers. The east coast is relatively straight with one deep inlet -- Port Pilar with a coastline marked by a succession of reefs, small points and white sandy beaches.
The Island's Pacific-facing reefs are situated on the edge of the Philippine Trench, and the extremely deep offshore waters assure the ocean swells have undiluted power when they encounter the many coral and rock reefs, giving Siargao excellent surfing conditions, particularly during the southwest "habagat" monsoon from August to November, when the prevailing wind is offshore.
The best known surfing wave on Siargao with a worldwide reputation for thick, hollow tubes is "Cloud 9". This right-breaking reef wave is the site of the annual Siargao Cup, a domestic and international surfing competition sponsored by the provincial government of Surigao del Norte. The wave was discovered by traveling surfers in the late 1980's, and named and made famous by American photographer John S Callahan, who published the first major feature on Siargao Island in the US based SURFER Magazine in March 1993, and hundreds of photos in many other books and magazines since. Callahan has returned to the island many times since his first visit in 1992, and his efforts to photograph and publish surfing related and general location material from Siargao in books and magazines around the world has put the island on the international map and drawn thousands of surfers and tourists to Siargao.
There are several other quality waves on Siargao and nearby islands, but Cloud 9 has received more publicity than any other wave in the area, indeed in the Philippines as a whole. It is the only wave in the area accessible without a boat, leading to overcrowding and the nickname of "Crowd 9" among surfers worldwide as eager foreign and locally owned accommodation and tourist facilities attempt to profit from the magazine publicity and the annual influx of visitors drawn by the Siargao Cup competition in September.
While there are few rental craft on the island, Siargao has superb sea kayaking opportunities – on the east side, facing the Philippine Trench, the deep blue sea runs straight up against a perfect tropical coast, offering unparalleled wave-running.
On the other side of the island, one of the country’s largest expanses of virgin mangrove swamp provides an entirely different kind of exploration. This centuries-old ecosystem is a rich breeding ground for marine life, including the salt-water crocodile, and is an adventure no kayaker will want to miss.
Long stretches of wetlands likewise indicate potentials for commercial seaweed propagation. Siargao Island is greatly influenced by the winds and currents coming uninterrupted from the Pacific Ocean, intensified by the Mindanao current running westward through the Siargao Strait.
Offshore, a classic tropical island lay protected within its surrounding coral reef and the dozen coconut palms dressed in the center circle of the island rustled gently in the morning breeze. (wowphilippines)
The tear-drop shaped island is situated 800 kilometers southeast of Manila. It has a land mass of approximately 437 kilometers. The east coast is relatively straight with one deep inlet -- Port Pilar with a coastline marked by a succession of reefs, small points and white sandy beaches.
The Island's Pacific-facing reefs are situated on the edge of the Philippine Trench, and the extremely deep offshore waters assure the ocean swells have undiluted power when they encounter the many coral and rock reefs, giving Siargao excellent surfing conditions, particularly during the southwest "habagat" monsoon from August to November, when the prevailing wind is offshore.
The best known surfing wave on Siargao with a worldwide reputation for thick, hollow tubes is "Cloud 9". This right-breaking reef wave is the site of the annual Siargao Cup, a domestic and international surfing competition sponsored by the provincial government of Surigao del Norte. The wave was discovered by traveling surfers in the late 1980's, and named and made famous by American photographer John S Callahan, who published the first major feature on Siargao Island in the US based SURFER Magazine in March 1993, and hundreds of photos in many other books and magazines since. Callahan has returned to the island many times since his first visit in 1992, and his efforts to photograph and publish surfing related and general location material from Siargao in books and magazines around the world has put the island on the international map and drawn thousands of surfers and tourists to Siargao.
There are several other quality waves on Siargao and nearby islands, but Cloud 9 has received more publicity than any other wave in the area, indeed in the Philippines as a whole. It is the only wave in the area accessible without a boat, leading to overcrowding and the nickname of "Crowd 9" among surfers worldwide as eager foreign and locally owned accommodation and tourist facilities attempt to profit from the magazine publicity and the annual influx of visitors drawn by the Siargao Cup competition in September.
While there are few rental craft on the island, Siargao has superb sea kayaking opportunities – on the east side, facing the Philippine Trench, the deep blue sea runs straight up against a perfect tropical coast, offering unparalleled wave-running.
On the other side of the island, one of the country’s largest expanses of virgin mangrove swamp provides an entirely different kind of exploration. This centuries-old ecosystem is a rich breeding ground for marine life, including the salt-water crocodile, and is an adventure no kayaker will want to miss.
Long stretches of wetlands likewise indicate potentials for commercial seaweed propagation. Siargao Island is greatly influenced by the winds and currents coming uninterrupted from the Pacific Ocean, intensified by the Mindanao current running westward through the Siargao Strait.
Offshore, a classic tropical island lay protected within its surrounding coral reef and the dozen coconut palms dressed in the center circle of the island rustled gently in the morning breeze. (wowphilippines)
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