When divers talk about milestones, you'll often hear numbers like 30, 70, or 100 logged dives. On September 1, 2019, I returned to Longdong No. 3 to complete my 70th dive — and standing there at that legendary training ground, memories came flooding back.
I still remember how Coach Ada first described it before my very first visit: "When we head down to Longdong No. 3, you'll pass through a stretch called the 'Stairway to Heaven.' Why is it called that? You'll understand once you get there!"
To Reach Longdong No. 3, You First Have to Survive the "Stairway to Heaven"
And boy, did I understand. Getting down to Longdong No. 3 means suiting up in full gear, scuba tank and all, clambering over a low seawall, and then picking your way down a steep rocky slope. At the time, I had zero open-water training experience — just imagining myself hauling that tank down there made me feel like I'd already accomplished something remarkable. Reality, however, was far less flattering. For a beginner like me, it was genuinely grueling: the slope was steep, the tank was heavy, and keeping my footing on the rocks was nearly impossible. By the time I finally reached the water's edge, I was completely out of breath — and everyone else was already gearing up to dive while I was still gasping. That descent is truly punishing, and the nickname "Stairway to Heaven" couldn't be more fitting.
The red line marks the "Stairway to Heaven" route from top to bottom — back then, it felt impossibly steep to me.
The low seawall at Longdong No. 3 now has steps built into it to help divers cross — a genuine blessing for everyone who makes the trek.
Longdong No. 3: A Leg-Day Workout for Divers
Ever since that first experience, Longdong No. 3 left a deep psychological mark on me, and I always wondered why the training ground had to be such a difficult hike. The path to Bat Cave dive site, for instance, is so much more manageable. One day I finally asked Coach Ada why the training base wasn't somewhere easier to access, like Bat Cave. He just smiled knowingly and said, "That's exactly the point — Longdong No. 3 is here to build up your leg strength. Once you've done this, every other dive site will feel easy by comparison."
For some reason, even with that warm and reassuring smile of his, I always suspected he was laying it on a bit thick. Still, I trusted Coach Ada completely, and thinking it over, he wasn't wrong. It was precisely because of the "Stairway to Heaven" that I started exercising again and working on my breathing — not just so I wouldn't arrive at the water's edge gasping for air, but so I'd have the stamina to move freely between all the dive sites along the Northeast Coast.
By the time I returned to Longdong No. 3 for my 70th dive, I looked at the "Stairway to Heaven" with a quiet sense of pride. I had come so far — from a panting, struggling beginner to someone who could walk down that slope without breaking a sweat. I was feeling quite pleased with myself, right up until the moment I caught a glimpse of Divemaster Ah-Jia hoisting two scuba tanks — one on his right shoulder, one in his left hand — and calmly heading down the path. I quickly looked away and decided I had seen quite enough. Some things are better left unwitnessed.
Underwater Highlights at Longdong No. 3
Setting aside the trials and tribulations of the "Stairway to Heaven," Longdong No. 3 is actually a wonderful place to dive. Once in the water, you can practise putting on and removing your fins against the rock face, then move at a leisurely pace toward the drop-off. After descending, you'll first pass through a rocky zone; kick out a little further and a dramatic cliff wall comes into view. From there, you follow the wall at an average depth of around 10 to 13 m, turning 210 degrees at the far end to head back. A 10 m buoy floating offshore serves as a helpful reference point.
Looking up at the 10 m buoy from the seafloor.
The cliff wall is home to all sorts of creatures: pufferfish (honestly, where on the Northeast Coast can't you find pufferfish?), moray eels, scorpionfish, Lionfish, and hermit crabs — familiar faces for anyone who dives the area regularly. What makes Longdong No. 3 special, though, is its habit of throwing up completely unexpected surprises when you least expect them.
Surprises for Beginner Divers at Longdong No. 3
I remember one dive when Coach Ada had us taking turns practising in small groups. While I waited my turn, an enormous Lionfish emerged from a rock crevice and began drifting lazily in circles right in front of me, fins fully fanned out — a wingspan of at least 40 cm (did it think it was on a catwalk?!). The Lionfish I'd seen before were maybe around 20 cm; I had no idea they could grow so large.
The Lionfish (devil firefish) typically seen at Longdong No. 3 are usually on the small side.
Then there was the time on the eve of a typhoon — Coach Ada leading the dive, Coach Junyao bringing up the rear. We were midway through our underwater tour when Junyao started shaking his bell like mad. I followed Coach Ada over to investigate, and all we could see was a dark, shadowy hole in the cliff wall. I was puzzling over what we were supposed to be looking at when, without warning, an octopus the size of a human head burst out of the crevice, nearly smacking Coach Ada in the face as he peered in — and then it vanished back into the darkness in an instant. We couldn't get a photo. When we told people about it afterwards, nobody believed us. "No pic, no proof," they laughed. An octopus that big would practically qualify as a sea monster. But it was real — enormous and fleeting. That image stayed burned in my mind, and I spent the entire following summer chasing octopuses trying to find it again.
A Special Guest at Longdong No. 3
During the summer of 2019, Longdong No. 3 received a very special visitor — a harlequin shrimp. Everyone even prepared a sea star feast for it. Whether or not that's entirely in line with marine conservation principles is a separate debate, but I found the gesture rather endearing — a small act of warmth and whimsy toward a little ocean friend. Coach Ada even filmed it: in the video, the shrimp waves its claws up and down, and we all joked that it was performing a little dance of gratitude.
A special Northeast Coast guest — the harlequin shrimp.
My 70th dive at Longdong No. 3 was a happy one, filled with fond memories of diving adventures and the steady guidance of coaches who never stopped reminding me of the one thing that matters most — no matter how much fun you're having underwater, always dive safe.
From right to left: lead instructor Coach Ada, assistant instructor Coach Junyao, and Coach Jianlong.
The Editor's Wrap-Up: Love Snorkeling at Longdong? Go Deeper and See So Much More!
the Editor knows that every summer, crowds flock to Longdong to snorkel and cliff jump — and if you love what you've seen from the surface, scuba diving will blow your mind. Longdong No. 3 is the cradle of beginner divers in northern Taiwan, and there's no better place to take your first plunge into the ocean. Curious about what else awaits beneath the waves around Longdong? the Editor has put together a selection of Carol's dive log entries just for you — take a look!
Recommended Dive Sites Around Longdong and Northern Taiwan — Step from Snorkeling into Scuba!
【Taiwan Northeast Coast 825】Dive Site Introduction — A Macro Paradise Along the Coastal Highway 【Carol's Dive Log】Longdong No. 4 / Hemei Elementary School Dive Site — The Hidden Lembeh of Northern Taiwan 【Carol's Dive Log】Love at First Sight with Taiwan's Northeast Coast — Where My Passion for Diving Began 【Carol's Dive Log】Northeast Coast Dive Site — Yingge Rock: A Special Ocean Cleanup Dive Removing Wooden Shrimp Traps 【Carol's Dive Log】Northeast Coast Dive Site — Mosquito Pit (Hemei Street / 83.9K): The Adorable "Beginner's Village"
【2019.9.1 — Back at Longdong No. 3 for Dive #70】
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