Lighthouse Reef
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
Lighthouse is Malapascua's sunset ritual. As the light dies, mandarinfish emerge from the staghorn rubble in courting pairs, spiraling upward for a second-long spawning embrace that photographers wait out with red-filtered torches and held breath. The dive around that appointment is a slow shallow mooch: seahorses clinging to sponges, pipefish on the sand, juvenile everything sheltering in the coral scree, and squid gathering as darkness settles. Depth rarely passes 8 m, so the whole affair runs long and warm. It pairs naturally with a thresher-heavy itinerary, small drama after the morning's big one.
The moment you come for: Mandarinfish spawning at dusk, seahorses and pipefish, long mellow twilight profiles
Topography: Rubble, staghorn thickets, and sand in the lighthouse's shadow
Entry: A short ride to the island's northwest corner, timed so the dive starts in the last half hour of daylight.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Shallow boat traffic at dusk; long exposure to stinging hydroids for the careless.
Conservation: Mandarinfish abandon rubble patches that get blasted with white light and crowding; follow the low-light etiquette.
Who you'll meet
Bigfin Reef Squid
Frogfish
Mandarinfish
Nudibranchs
Seahorses
For photographers
Wide angle: ★☆☆☆☆ · Macro: ★★★★★ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting