The Mantanani Islands form a small group of three islands off the north-west coast of the state of Sabah

Sabah

Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

, Malaysia, opposite the town of Kota Belud

Kota Belud

Kota Belud is a town located in West Coast Division, in the center of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Its population was estimated to be around 72,337 in 2000, almost evenly divided between ethnic Dusun and Bajau with a sizeable proportion of Chinese ethnicity...

, in northern Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

. The largest island is Mantanani Besar; the other two are Mantanani Kecil and Lungisan. It is a popular site for recreational diving

Recreational diving

Recreational diving or sport diving is a type of diving that uses SCUBA equipment for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment. In some diving circles, the term "recreational diving" is used in contradistinction to "technical diving", a more demanding aspect of the sport which requires greater levels...

 as there are three nearby dive wrecks

Wreck diving

Wreck diving is a type of recreational diving where shipwrecks are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificial reef sites...

 dating from the Second World War, as well as being known for its dugong

Dugong

The dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...

s.

Birdwatching

For birdwatchers, the Mantanani group is good for seeing birds that usually nest on islands, because of their relative lack of terrestrial predators, and are rarely or unpredictably seen on the mainland. Mantanani Besar is the only place in Sabah to see the Mantanani Scops Owl

Mantanani Scops Owl

The Sula Scops Owl , is a small owl in the scops-owl genus Otus found on the Sula Islands. Taxonomically, some groups consider it to be a distinct species , others a subspecies of the Sulawesi Scops Owl, and yet others a subspecies of the Moluccan Scops Owl.-References:*Clements, J. F., T. S....

. Other island specialists include the Pied Imperial

Pied Imperial-Pigeon

The Pied Imperial Pigeon is a relatively large, pied species of pigeon. It is found in forest, woodland, mangrove, plantations and scrub in Southeast Asia, ranging from Myanmar and Thailand south to Java and east to the Philippines and the Bird's Head Peninsula in New Guinea. It is mainly found on...

, Grey Imperial

Grey Imperial-pigeon

The Grey Imperial Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and plantations ....

 and Nicobar Pigeon

Nicobar Pigeon

The Nicobar Pigeon, Caloenas nicobarica, is a pigeon found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Nicobar Islands, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau. It is the only living member of the genus Caloenas....

s, and the Philippine Megapode. The Blue-naped Parrot

Blue-naped Parrot

The Blue-naped Parrot , also known as the Blue-crowned Green Parrot, Luzon Parrot, the Philippine Green Parrot, and locally known as Pikoy, is a parrot found throughout the Philippines including the Talaud Islands and islands off north and east Borneo...

 is locally extinct. Lungisan Island has a nesting cave colony of German's Swiftlet

German's Swiftlet

The German's Swiftlet is a species of swift.It is found in China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Description:This swiftlet is...

s and is an important roost for frigatebird

Frigatebird

The frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them...

s.

Access

The islands are accessible by a one-hour speedboat journey from Kuala Abai jetty, Kota Belud, 80 km north-east of Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...

, the capital of Sabah. Mantanani Besar contains a small resort, catering mainly to scuba divers

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

, and Mantanani Kechil a small dive lodge.