MANILA -- The Philippines' Tubbataha Reef has been named among the best scuba diving destinations in the world by a New York-based travel magazine.

Tubbataha Reef Marine Park, located in the Sulu Sea near Palawan, ranked 18th in Travel + Leisure's list of "19 Beautiful Destinations With the Best Scuba Diving in the World."

The place has "more turtles, rays, and sharks than you ever imagined all in one place on incredible reef and drift dives," according to an article published online by the magazine on January 2, 2023.

"[It] makes for an extraordinary adventure," said author Terry Ward.

With its rich biodiversity, Tubbataha Reef has been declared as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO.

Below is the full list of top scuba diving destinations in the world by Travel + Leisure:

1. Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia
2. Palau
3. Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
4. Maldives
5. Azores, Portugal
6. Tobago
7. Galapagos Islands
8. Cocos Islands, Costa Rica
9. Socorro and Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
10. Baja California Sur, Mexico
11. The Bahamas
12. The Florida Keys, United States
13. Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
14. Fiji
15. Heron Island, Australia
16. Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia
17. Red Sea, Egypt
18. Tubbataha Reef Marine Park, Philippines
19. The Cayman Islands

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