Sunken Cemetery

In the early 1870s the volcano Vulcan Daan erupted on Camiguin's western side, and the ground around Catarman - then the island's principal town - subsided and was progressively taken by the sea, carrying the town's cemetery under with it. A large white concrete cross was put up on the shallows in 1982 to mark where it lies, and that cross, standing alone above the water with the coast behind, is the image of Camiguin most people carry away. Boats run out from the shore for a closer look, and snorkellers and divers go down over the site, where coral has grown over the remains of walls and tombs and fish work the structure - the diving is genuinely good, quite apart from the history. The shore has a viewing deck, stalls and sunset views. The old church ruins at Guiob, destroyed in the same eruption, are a few minutes inland.

History

This was the cemetery of the old settlement of Bonbon, now part of Catarman, and it sank beneath the sea after the eruption of Mount Vulcan on 1 May 1871. A wooden cross once marked it; the provincial government replaced it with a concrete cross in 1982, and in 2018 the site was declared a National Cultural Treasure (Wikipedia, Sunken Cemetery).

What's there

• The white cross - the marker standing offshore.
• The submerged site - coral over walls and tombs below.
• The boat trip - the short run out from the shore.
• The sunset view - the cross against the western sea.

When to go

March to June for calm water and the best visibility for snorkelling. Late afternoon from the shore for sunset behind the cross.

What to expect

The cross is a 1982 marker, not an original monument. Boat hire and snorkel fees are charged separately from entry. Currents run over the site, and it is deeper than it looks.

Nearby

The Old Guiob church ruins are minutes away; White Island, Katibawasan Falls and the Ardent springs are on the same circuit.

Key facts