Dive Sites
With over 10 local
dive sites of Interest to choose from and all
In only a short minibus or boat ride away you will be spoilt for choice.
La Manga offers divers of all experience levels great diving.
Shore dives for the Qualified
We have a variety of
different dive sites around La Manga in the Mediterranean Sea, which have an
abundance of marine life, shoals of smaller fish, good rock formations, and
swim-throughs where the visibility is around 10-15 metres and is on the edge of
the cabo de Palos marine reserve. Average depth is around 10 metres.
Cabo De Palos, Cala Fria
On the very tip of cabo de palos lies the
rocky bays of cala fria, one of which faces N/E and two facing S/W. These are
very interesting dive sites as they have some good rock formations and
swimthroughs which are home to scorpion fish, octopus, small groupers and
colourful wrasse. In the shallow confines of the bays lies fields of oceanic
gorgonia which brings shoals of salema, sergeant fish, wrasse etc .The maximum
depth of the bays is 18 metres where you can find large rocks full of corals
and can occasionally see barracuda, green and
brown wrasse in open waters.
Portman
This is an
excellent site for beginners as it is sheltered from winds and currents, which
has a flat sandy bottom of around 10 metres. This area due to the shelter seems
to attract many varieties of fish that stay in shoals and rays such as the
electric ray and butterfly ray, which hide beneath the sand, also flying
gurnards, and amongst the rocky edge that shelters the bay are wrasse, scorpion
fish, shoals of damsel fish and many more species including cuttlefish.
Cala cortina (left) and calareona are also
excellent for beginners and are good training sites for students participating
on courses such as the PADI Open Water Diver course.
Boat Dives for the
qualified
We have several
boat dives depending on your experience which are considered some of the best
in Spain inside the Islas Hormigas marine reserve, which is a protected area
from fishing and brings an abundance of large pelagic marine life to see which
take shelter and live around the rock reefs which has an average depth of 18-20
metres with a maximum of 40 metres and are impressive to any diver.
Bajo del Piles II
Access - From Cabo de Palos set course for Las Islas Hormigas for 1.5 miles then you turn towards La Manga crossing Piles.
Description:
Bajo del Piles
consists of two separate rocky spines extending towards the islas Hormigas.The
main spine is some 75m long with the two summits at 7and 9m. The average depth
of the crest is deeper between 12 and 15m. The spine rises from the sandy seabed of 27m at the south whilst the
northern tip drops to only 23m.
The second spine is a continuation of the primary and lies parallel to it. It is 9m at its shallowest, with a similar
average depth. The seabed is somewhat deeper at around 30m at the southern end.
Both spines are
limited in marine flora but this is made up for by the marine life. The primary
spine is renowned for the size and quantity of its indigenous Moray population,
who share the rocks with Scorpion fish, Mojarras and groupers. The smaller
spine attracts larger shoals of mojarra not to mention Barracuda, Cod and large
groupers. Neither spine is subject to significant currents but from time to time can be blown out by the wind.
Bajo de Piles III
The second
and smaller of the rocky piles spines. It is a sheltered dive with regard to current but can be vunerable to wind. This bar is home to Barracuda,
Morjarra, Cod and several large Groupers. To the north and north west of both
spines are numerous rocky blocks, which form a labyrinthine home for large
Groupers and Eels. In general these are easy, pleasant dives suitable for most levels of divers but care must be taken not to become disorientated, especially around the rocky blocks.
Minimum depth
9m, maximum depth 30m.
Bajo de Dentro
Access - From
Cabo de Palos set course for Islas Hormigas, de Dentro lies exactly 4 km from
port, within the marine reserve of Islas Hormigas. Bajo de Dentro is a rocky
outcrop that rises from the sandy seabed at 50m at the tip of it’s southern
spine to just 4m at its central point. The northern side comprises of gently
sloping platform some 20-30m in length which lies in 12-16m of water. Both the
eastern and western sides comprise of steep walls through the easterly wall is
almost vertical and deeper. Both faces have caves are around 20m and 40m
respectively.
Because of the
currents that wash this pinnacle, and its protected status, it is rich in both
marine flora and fauna. There are large schools of both sea perch, Chromis, Corva, Bream and Mojarra, which in turn attract shoals of Barracuda,
Groupers and Dentex. Amongst the rocks lies sanctuary for Scorpion fish,
Brotala, Lobsters, Moray and Conger Eels.
There is also an abundance of soft corals such as Gorgonias. You can
occasionally spot eagle rays, sunfish and maybe turtles.
Bajo de la Testa
Part of Cabo de
Palos marine reserve, Bajo de la Testa is a gentler sloping plateau. The minimum depth 8m and a maximum depth of 22m. It is surrounded by deeper water
and fields of oceanic Gorgonia. The plateau has inhabitants that include schools of Mojarra, Pollack and large green and brown Wrasse. It is also home
to many interesting invertebrates. A nice easy dive.
The Turia/El Dragomina
On Wednesday 28thJuly 1999 a new wreck appeared at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea between Cabo de Palos and Isla Grosa. This new
wreck started life as a minesweeper for the US Navy in the 1950s and was
decommissioned, stripped and cleaned ready for its final role as a home for
both divers and fish.
She lies on the
sloping seabed, with her bow at around 35m and her stern at some 31m. The top of the bridge was damaged during the sinking and now lies on the bed off the ships port side. This leaves the highest point at a depth of
around 21/22m.
Already the
shelter provided by the Turia has attracted lots of small schooling fish
(Anchovies, Sardines etc.), which have in turn attracted larger predatory fish
such as Mackerel and larger Bream. And as time goes on a wider range of fish have been attracted to the site, including visits by a solitary 2m long Sunfish.
Situated in a
relatively sheltered position, with good visibility (12m-30m) the Turia is a
dive well within the range of most Advanced divers. A mooring line and buoy has been secured to the wreck to ease access and minimize damage to the site.
The Isla Gomera
More commonly
known as El Naranjito due to its final, fatal cargo- thousands of oranges. These violently shifted in a storm causing the boat to list and take on water whilst the majority of the crew swam to the shore the Isla Gomera slowly slipped under the sea, even losing its cargo, which littered local shores for weeks to come. Depth 28- 45m. A real nice wreck dive which is home to some big conger eels.
El Farallon
The East of the Islas Grosa island lies the strange rock of El
Farallon which is around 10 minutes boat ride from Thomas Maestro port. This gentle sloping site reaches a depth of 18 metres as you swim through the scattered clusters of rocks that make shelter for a large variety of fish. There are also fields of oceanic gorgonia, which bring large shoals of salema which feed, on this plus a whole variety of other types of fish.
Bajo de Fuera, or Piedra de Vapor
Due to its
distance from shore but shallow depth, has been a fatal trap for shipping
throughout the centuries. The slopes of the pinnacle are littered with debris from at least 4 large ships. The Nord America sank in 1883, was an
Italian freighter carrying iron ingots. The Minerva was pushed onto the rocks in a huge storm around 1899. The most famous wreck is the Sirio, an
overloaded Italian liner taking around 1000 immigrants to the U.S.A, which sank
with the loss of nearly 500 on the 4th of August 1906. Local fishermen rescued the rest. This site is highly protected and only a handful of divers are lucky to dive here each year. (This dive site needs clearance from authorities to dive as it is a 50metre plus dive and only advised for technical divers.)
There are a
variety of other dive sites stretching westwards towards Cartagena and as far
as Mazarron that have been discovered and
include a cave dive. Roman artefacts have also been found on some
dive sites, and a new cave dive of islas grosa.
The website will
be updated once we have details on these new sites.