El Cabron Marine Reserve, with its canyons and walls, chimneys and caves, is an exceptional place to dive. This area is very popular with tourists and is extremely busy, especially around the Christmas holidays, so plan your trip accordingly. Let’s take a brief look at five top El Cabron Marine Reserve dive sites.
Discovery Bay
At Discovery Bay, there is no boat ride – just a quick walk out from the beach and then a trip along the reef. Even though maximum depth here is just twelve meters and the water is calm, making it ideal for novice divers, there is plenty for even the most experienced divers to enjoy, as well! Bring your camera, because you are about to be amazed.
Shoals of fish flash in the brilliant sunlight, which makes the colorful parrotfish, wrasse, and damsels that occupy the reef and bay seem even more brilliant than ever, and there are lots of well camouflaged occupants here too. Look along the sandy bottom for flounder and razorfish, as well as cuttlefish and juvenile barracuda, which have a cuter smile than their grown-up relatives. A popular dive night or day, this is a great place to see rays and angel sharks!
Hole in the Wall
This challenging dive site is not always available, as it is often subject to high winds and strong currents, but if you get the opportunity to come on a good day, you will be well rewarded for your efforts. The dive site is entered via a trip over the reef and into a shallow, v-shaped channel, and continues down to the hole for which the site is named. Dive down, into the hole, and you’ll end up in a cave at fourteen meters. Upon exiting through the mouth of the cave, you will swim down along a sandy slope until you reach maximum depth of just twenty-four meters.
As if the intriguing underwater topography here were not enough, you’ll see plenty of delightful fish and other life forms along the way. Besides the usual Canary Islands reef fish, you will find a swarming fish ball made up of about 2,000 roncadores, as well as some very large toothy barracuda looking for lunch. Electric rays and morays, as well as angel sharks, are likely to join you on this exciting dive.
Table Top
Besides just the Table Top itself, you can choose from a variety of dive routes, including Arco Pequeno, The Finger, The Eel Garden, or Fish Ball, once you make your way through the small channel that leads to the site. This incredible volcanic shelf is also known as the Veril de Arinaga, and is home to more than fifty species of fish, as well as an endless parade of invertebrates. Seahorses and cephalopods, as well as rays and sharks make their homes among the walls and arches, which are covered in sponges and anemones. Giant gorgonians and starfish add even more color to these shallow walls, which drop down to just between twenty and twenty-two meters below the surface. These walls are peppered with caves and grottoes, where moray eels and king crabs take up residence.
Table Top is a fascinating dive, night or day; and there is so much to see here that you’re certain to come back for more!
Punta de la Sal
This is a decompression dive and is accessible only to experienced divers. You begin at the Table Top dive site, and continue along the shallow cliff area at ten to fifteen meters; then, after passing an eel garden, you’ll descend to twenty meters, where moray eels hide among scattered boulders. At thirty meters, you will find yourself in the Campo de Gorgonia area, which features massive gorgonians and hosts a number of rays and even some angel sharks at times.
While you are here, you’re certain to see massive schools of fish, along with very large barracuda that can be nearly two meters long. With the variety of life, both small and large, that you encounter along the way, you are certain to enjoy this exciting adventure.
Punta de la Monia
Massive shoals of damselfish are everywhere you look, and the caves and recesses host glasseye and conger, as well as moray eels and crustaceans. The dive at Punta de la Monia is quite long, but extremely scenic, as it winds its way all the way around the point and finishes in El Cabron bay. As the dive begins at the Hole in the Wall entry point, it is meant for advanced divers only. If you want to see the most fish and underwater topography, and can only make a single dive at El Cabron Marine Reserve, then this may be a good one to select!
Be sure to choose your charter or dive tour carefully, and make sure you plan your trip well in advance. Brush up on your underwater photography skills before you get here if you can – you’ll be able to make beautiful memories that will last you a lifetime!