El Vencedor Wreck
45 ft · 14 m
Wreck on sand · Open Water
The sunken tuna boat El Vencedor is the dive everyone asks about. The hull lies on a sandy bottom at a comfortable 45 feet and has become the meeting point for the park's bull sharks, which patrol in slow circles over the wreck while groupers, snappers and turtles use the structure as shelter. Because the site is shallow and flat, even newly certified divers can enjoy long bottom times here.
- Common encounters
- Bull sharks, groupers, snappers, turtles, stingrays, garden eels, Panamic green morays, schools of yellowtail snapper, grunts and sardines
- Seasonal
- Large aggregations of bull sharks
- Possible
- Tiger sharks
El Cantil
15–55 ft · 5–17 m
Coral reef wall · Open Water
El Cantil is the long reef ledge that gives Cabo Pulmo its reputation. Hard coral heads step down from 15 to 55 feet and the fish life is dense from the first minute: walls of bigeye trevally, groups of large groupers and more moray species in one dive than most people see in a year. In winter you may hear humpback whales singing through the water.
- Common encounters
- Schools of bigeye trevally, large groups of groupers, Panamic green morays, snappers, turtles, stingrays, garden, zebra, fine-spotted and jewel eels, electric rays
- Seasonal
- Guitarfish, humpback whales (heard underwater in winter)
- Possible
- Bull sharks
La Esperanza
75–85 ft · 23–26 m
Deep reef · Advanced recommended
La Esperanza is the deep option of the park. The reef sits between 75 and 85 feet, so bottom time is shorter and the Advanced Open Water certification (or the deep adventure dive) pays off here. The reward is big animals: mobula rays in spring, guitarfish resting on the sand and, on lucky days, a bull or tiger shark passing in the blue.
- Common encounters
- Groupers, snappers, turtles, stingrays, green, zebra, fine-spotted and jewel eels
- Seasonal
- Mobula rays, guitarfish
- Possible
- Tiger sharks, bull sharks
El Islote
0–65 ft · 0–20 m
Coral reef and pinnacle · All levels
A rock that breaks the surface and drops in steps to 65 feet. El Islote is a macro and wide-angle site at the same time: lobsters, nudibranchs and giant damselfish on the pinnacle, and schools of African pompano circling the deeper side. When the sardine run is on, the whole pinnacle disappears inside a silver cloud.
- Common encounters
- Schools of African pompano, groupers, snappers, turtles, garden, green, zebra, fine-spotted and jewel eels, lobsters, nudibranchs, giant damselfish
- Seasonal
- Schools of sardines
- Possible
- Whitetip reef sharks
Outer Pulmo Reef
80–100 ft · 24–30 m
Deep coral reef · Advanced
The outermost finger of the Cabo Pulmo reef system, in 80 to 100 feet of clear water. This is where the resort's founders used to see black sea bass "the size of refrigerators" and the biomass is still remarkable. It is a true deep dive, so we schedule it as the first tank of the morning and only for Advanced divers.
- Common encounters
- Groupers, snappers, turtles, stingrays and the largest reef fish of the park
- Seasonal
- Big pelagic visitors in the cooler months
- Possible
- Sharks cruising the drop-off
Las Casitas
30–60 ft · 9–18 m
Coral reef with swim-throughs · Open Water
Las Casitas ("the little houses") is a maze of coral blocks and short swim-throughs where turtles and whitetip reef sharks nap in the shade. It is a relaxed, playful dive that photographers love for the light beams between the rocks.
- Common encounters
- Groupers, snappers, turtles, stingrays, green, zebra, fine-spotted and jewel eels
- Seasonal
- Whitetip reef sharks
- Possible
- Eagle rays
Mermaid Beach
10–30 ft · 3–9 m
Shallow coral reef off the beach · Beginner · snorkel
The shallow reef just off Mermaid Beach is where we run Discover Scuba Diving ocean sessions, refresher dives and snorkel stops. Turtles graze in 10 to 30 feet of water, stingrays hide in the sand and eels poke out of every crack. Calm, bright and full of life.
- Common encounters
- Turtles, stingrays, garden, green, zebra, fine-spotted and jewel eels
- Seasonal
- Guitarfish
- Possible
- Spotted eagle rays
La Lobera (Sea Lion Colony)
10–30 ft · 3–9 m
Rocky point, no coral · All levels · snorkel
La Lobera is the sea lion rookery at the rocky point of the bay. There is no coral here, only boulders, surgeonfish and Moorish idols, but when the sea lions are in residence they come out to play with divers and snorkelers in the shallows. It is the favorite stop of our snorkel tour.
- Common encounters
- Schools of surgeonfish, Moorish idols
- Seasonal
- Sea lions, schools of sardines
- Possible
- Mobula rays passing the point
Los Morros
30–55 ft · 9–17 m
Rocky reef and boulders · Open Water
Los Morros has the longest species list of any site in the park. Huge schools of Panamic porkfish, grunts, yellowtail snapper and balloonfish hang over the boulders, bigeye trevally form their tornado in the blue and, in the warm months, mobulas, mantas and even the occasional whale shark cruise by.
- Common encounters
- Schools of bigeye trevally, groupers, snappers, turtles, stingrays, garden eels, green, zebra, fine-spotted and jewel eels, schools of Panamic porkfish, grunts, yellowtail snapper and balloonfish
- Seasonal
- Mobula rays, guitarfish, machetes, green jacks, manta rays
- Possible
- Whale sharks, bull sharks
El Bajo
35–60 ft · 11–18 m
Live rocky reef · Open Water
El Bajo shares its neighbors' fish life but with a different seascape: ridges of living reef separated by sand channels, ideal for a slow drift with the current doing the work. A good second tank after a deeper first dive.
- Common encounters
- The same schools and reef species as Los Morros over a different reef structure
- Seasonal
- Mobula rays, green jacks
- Possible
- Bull sharks
