Corsica · France · Pinnacle · Reef
Le Sec du Toro
Two rock plateaus at 3 m with 36 m of water around them
Area photo: Reustli · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Sec du Toro, better known locally as the Danger du Toro, is a pair of rocky plateaus about 700 metres east of the Toro islet, marked by a danger beacon. Their flat tops stand at three and four metres and the ground around them falls away to 36. It is an exposed rock in open water, dived when the sea allows, beside an islet inside the Cerbicale islands nature reserve.
Also known as Danger du Toro.
Where it is and how deep
41.5089° N, 9.3895° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The two plateaus stand about fifty metres apart, their flat tops at three and four metres below the surface and a beacon marking the danger above. You drop into the gap between them and go down to around fifteen metres, then turn and work around one of the plateaus, following it down to the deepest ground at 36 metres. The rock has been described as a hand laid flat with the fingers spread, and the gaps between those fingers are the passages you swim.
On the deep side there is a dense forest of blue gorgonians and groupers in numbers, with moray eels, spiny lobster, corb and dentex holding in the rock. Leerfish and barracuda come through in season. The ascent brings you back onto the tops at three metres, where the dive finishes in a shifting, multi-coloured crowd of girelles, sars and saupes over the flat rock.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Corsica: Operators run Apr–Oct with July and August warmest; the Bouches de Bonifacio funnel wind and can close the crossing at short notice.
Know before you go
- The circuit around the plateau reaches 36 metres while the tops are at three, so the profile is steep — take the deep leg first and watch the no-stop clock on the way round.
- Nothing published describes the current on the rock itself, and it stands in open water off an exposed coast — carry a delayed surface marker buoy and stay with the group.
Dive videos
Danger du Toro, plongée en Corse · Subtortue2a on YouTube
Danger du Toro, plongée en Corse du sud · Mer, Lacs & Voile on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Sec du Toro?+
The two plateaus have flat tops at three and four metres; the descent between them runs to about fifteen, and the circuit around one plateau reaches a maximum of 36 metres. Level 1 or 2 is quoted, depending on which route the guide takes.
Sources
- Plongée Corse : le Danger du Toro — Subtortue
- Île du Toro — Wikipedia (French)
- Le danger du Toro — Scuba Spot Advisor
More dive sites in Corsica
Rock formations and faults on ground from 5 to 30 metres
Sand slope
A sandbar edge from 3 m to 15 m, used for courses
A 3 m to 15 m nursery plateau in an island reserve
Stepped plateaus at 6 to 20 metres off a bird-sanctuary island
Wreck
A 45 m cement ship on sand, deck at 6 m
Catalogued from 10 to 30 metres on the Chiappa cape
Catalogued from 15 m down to 40 m off Porto-Vecchio
Sand slope
Sand bank, seagrass and rock under the Chiappa light
Similar dives elsewhere
Maze-like rock stacks full of red sea fans to 40 m
A chain of rock heads under the Estérel, 6 m to 40 m
Solitary boulders from 12 m to 40 m in strong current, for experienced divers
Underwater mountain five minutes out of Blanes port