Divesite: Cueva del Pargo
Level: Beginner
Maximum Depth: 11.5 Meters
Diving in Playa del Carmen at Cueva del Pardo Reef
Cueva del Pargo means ‘Caves of Snappers’ in Spanish. As the name implies, there are many small caves and ledges on this reef where snappers, lobsters, crustaceans, moray eels and other fish can be found.
Most of the reef is covered with a dense coral garden and is, therefore, particularly suitable for photographing smaller inhabitants such as squat shrimp, transparent anemone shrimp, arrow crabs or seahorses, all of which one can encounter repeatedly here.
It is mostly dived from south to north and you drift along the reef with the gentle current. After about half an hour of diving or depending on how much time you took, you start to cross a large sandy area. About 9 meters into the crossing, the statue of “Virgen de Caracol” is found.
After a few minutes over this sandy area, you come to a section called ‘La Isla’, the island. With a lot of seagrass growing in the sand, it is not uncommon to see turtles or southern stingrays crossing the bay. The island is known for its often-full-grown barracudas lurking in the current for prey. Predominantly hard corals grow here and are home to many lobsters.
The maximum depth is about 11.5 meters at this dive site. Due to the usually very light current, diving in this area is easy.
