Diving with sharks is always an exhilarating experience. When you combine incredible visibility and warm water with a cave dive and an abundance of different shark species, it is simply out of this world. Located four nautical miles northwest of Tobacco Caye, and 32 nautical miles from the blissfully peaceful Placencia Peninsula, Placencia’s Shark Hole is one dive every shark lover should experience at least once.
Amazing Geology
The Shark Hole itself is incredible, as it is a sinkhole that begins in about 30 feet of water, and which drops all the way down to 130 feet beneath the surface. Millennium ago, this sunken cavern was above water. With a domed chamber 150 feet across, it has ancient calcified stalactites suspended from its roof and a rocky bottom pocked with crevices. Beneath the central opening, a sand hill slopes from a depth of 100 feet to the cavern’s bottom. The cave itself is dark, but you can see the entrance from any point inside. The dive profile does not allow for much penetration far into the cave, but you will need a dive light to make your way around.
The Sharks
The sharks can usually be seen as soon as you begin your descent toward the hole. They circle the sandy dome in the middle of the hole, sometimes ascending and departing when divers arrive, and sometimes making their way toward the back of the cavern, knowing that divers cannot follow them.
Not only will you usually encounter hordes of nurse sharks on this dive, you will normally see black tip reef sharks as well. Other species include lemon sharks and leopard sharks, along with the occasional bull shark sighting. Be sure to use your light to explore the many crevices within the cave, as you can find sharks resting on and beneath the ledges. Don’t forget to look up toward the ceiling to see the rare and amazing sight of underwater stalactites in an ocean environment!
Additional Species
Other marine species are found here in abundance. As the site was discovered by fishermen who were hunting permit and tarpon, it is not surprising that huge schools of these fish, undaunted by the presence of so many sharks below, swirl around the entrance to the hole. Grinning torpedo-shaped barracuda are here too, and so are horse-eye jacks, cobia, and the yellow snappers that you’ll find at most other dive sites around Placencia and the rest of Belize. Inside the cave, you can find spider crabs and lobsters, along with a few moray eels, but they are normally few and far between.
Usually done as part of a three tank dive, the Shark Hole is suitable for experienced divers only. Local dive operators require a minimum of fifty logged dives or an advanced certificate. Be sure to plan this very special trip well in advance of your vacation, since space is limited, and if you need to work on your underwater photography skills, be sure to do so. This is one of those once in a lifetime dives, and it’s well worth the effort it takes to make it happen!