Punta Sur Reef ( Boat )

Location: South of Punta Sur at the southern entrance to laguna Colombia.

Conditions: This site can be very exposed during extreme weather conditions and there is always current. A journey time over one hour may dissuade some prospective divers from visiting a fascinating dive site.

Minimum depth: 80 ft/ 24 m

Maximum depth: Beyond 130 ft/ 40 m

Average visibility: In excess of 100 ft/ 30 m

There is an inner strip reef which rapidly falls away to what is becoming one of the most popular dive locations on the island. Although the site can be visited only when weather permits, the sheer majesty of the deep wall, caves, caverns and fissures put the site at the top of most divers' lists. You enter the larger of the cave systems down a sand chute at 90ft/ 27 m where you enter a superb complex of coral tunnels and caverns which are absolutely bursting with life. One of the larger caves, called the Devil's throat, opens up into an underwater room with four passageways, one of which leads to the Cathedral, a vast cavern with another three passageways, all interconnecting. Only experienced divers should consider entering these for any distance and any diver intending to explore them should be accompanied by a dive master or instructor. There are perhaps not as many fish at this site due to the exposed nature of the sea area, but the usual angelfish and butterfly fish can always be spotted swimming in pairs along the reef edge. The deeper coral walls have whip corals, which spiral out into the depths, and large black corals. There are also brightly colored small gorgonian sea fans, such as the deep-water fan, and sea whips, including the devil's sea whip, are very much evidence. This is an excellent dive, but diving time is always limited because of the extreme depth and the complex nature of the site.