
RMS Rhone & Salt Island · British Virgin Islands · Pinnacle · Coral garden
The Indians
Four pinnacles and coral gardens, all inside 15 m
Area photo: Gareth Richards · CC BY 3.0
Four rock pinnacles standing out of the water in the western BVI, dived as a shallow site with nothing below 15 m. Coral gardens fill the ground between the rocks and the tops hold shallow pools, which is why local operators rate it beginner level and put snorkellers over the same four pinnacles while a dive group is down.
Where it is and how deep
18.3318° N, 64.6288° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site is four rock pinnacles, and the dive works around them in the shallows rather than following one route out and back. Coral gardens fill the ground between the pinnacles, and nothing on the dive goes below 15 m, so the profile stays flat and a tank lasts. Local operators rate the site beginner level, which is the level the depth and the terrain here actually ask for.
The tops of the rocks hold shallow pools, and that shallow ground is the other half of why the site is used the way it is: snorkellers can cover the same four pinnacles from the surface while divers are down on them, so one boat can run both. The rocks take their name from sailors who thought they resembled Native American tepees.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows RMS Rhone & Salt Island: Nov–Jun is calmest and clearest; Aug–Oct hurricane season brings swell that can close the exposed Rhone site entirely.
Dive videos
SCUBA dive the Indians - Norman Island - BVI · Sal Delello on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is The Indians good for beginners?+
Yes. Local operators rate it beginner level and the dive stays inside 15 m, working around four pinnacles with coral gardens between them and shallow pools at the top of the rocks.
Sources
- Dive Sites — Sail Caribbean Divers
- Dive Sites — Sail Caribbean Divers
- OpenStreetMap Nominatim: The Indians — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in RMS Rhone & Salt Island
Coral ridges in north-south lines with sand lanes between
Reef
Sheltered canyons and ridges off the tip of Norman Island
Pinnacle
An amphitheatre of rock, ledges and swim-throughs to 18 m
Overhangs and a gentle slope in 6 to 15 m off Cooper Island
Reef
A rocky islet between Ginger and Cooper, sloping to 30 m
Wreck
A 1988 refrigeration ship at 23 m, a long run offshore
Reef
Pillar and black coral at 21 m with pelagics passing through
Wall
A three-step wall with different growth on every ledge
Similar dives elsewhere
Caribbean reef sharks around a lone rock breaking the surface far offshore
A lone cube-shaped rock rising from sand, visited by nurse sharks
A circular giri you can swim right round, top at 1 m and coral to 20 m
A full circuit of the rock, then up the canyon on its northeast side



