CHARCO DEL PALO

This is a very good dive option when there are poor ocean conditions to the southwest. This spot is notable for its purely volcanic rocky landscape, sprinkled with white sand. There is an excellent sample here of many of the Canary ecosystems within a very small space. On the high part, the rocky bottom is covered in a colorful carpet of seaweed. Below 10 m, the Diadema urchin has created extensive urchin-grazed barrens, –rocks without algal covering named in Spanish as “blanquizal”- and the rocks, before they disappear into the fields of sand, tend to form cliffs and caves. Black coral forests only accessible by trained divers grow below 40-50 m.

It is accessed by land. You can get suited up comfortably from the relatively close parking lot and later walk down a path with the equipment and enter the water by one of the two metal staircases. Seeing that the dive site is very wide, two trips are recommended, one to the right of the entrance point and the other to the left. Both routes allow you to adapt to different levels, varying the maximum depth of the dive. It is interesting to search for animals like moray eels, octopus, giant anemones, forkbeard and even shrimp in the caves and cavities. It is important to pay close attention when diving over sand, because there can be many angel sharks, spotted torpedos, and stingrays.