Costa Blanca · Spain · Reef
Los Arcos
A maze of fallen-boulder arches at 15 m, crusted with sponges and anemones
Area photo: diego_cue · CC BY-SA 3.0
A maze of arches at the foot of the Peñón de Ifach, formed where large boulders fell from the rock in the distant past and now stand encrusted with sponges and anemones. The maximum depth is 15 m, which makes it an easy, relaxed dive for every level, with schools of damselfish, octopus, eels and rays among the stones.
Where it is and how deep
38.6365° N, 0.0779° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Los Arcos is the shallow end of the Peñón, no deeper than 15 m, and is dived either on its own or as the finish of the one-way route from El Peñón. In the distant past large boulders and rock fell from the Peñón above and came to rest against one another, and the gaps between them form a maze of arches. Sponges and anemones encrust the stone, so the arches are worth a slow pass with a torch as much as a swim-through.
Schools of damselfish hang around the arches, and in the recesses between boulders there are scorpionfish, octopus, moray eels and conger eels. Eagle rays and stingrays are on the operator's regular list too, along with goldline and wrasses among the rocks. With a 15 m maximum the whole dive is within an easy profile, which is why the site is run for divers of every level.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Eagle rays
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Costa Blanca: Dived all year, but the water sits near 14 °C from January to March and the season is treated as starting in spring; peak-season boat traffic closes some cave surfacing.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Los Arcos?+
The maximum depth is 15 m, which makes it an easy and relaxing dive for divers of every level.
What lives in the arches at Los Arcos?+
Sponges and anemones encrust the boulders, with schools of damselfish, scorpionfish, octopus, moray and conger eels, eagle rays, stingrays, goldline and wrasses around them.
Sources
- Los Arcos - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Costa Blanca
Cave & cavern
A 50 m training cavern at 17 m, 15 minutes from Moraira port
Passages of light between enormous boulders, white gorgonians throughout
Cave & cavern
Barracuda at the cave corner and an open chamber to surface in, off-season
Reef
Swim-throughs between boulders and three kinds of ray on the sand
Wall
One-way along the Peñón to 27 m, ending in the arches of Los Arcos
Reef
A varied 10–20 m reef with everything from lobsters to barracuda
Wall
A sea-cut bowl in the Peñón to 35 m where amberjack and barracuda gather
Two faces of a rocky islet: boulders to 26 m, Posidonia shallows and barracuda shoals
Similar dives elsewhere
Gorgonians on the vertical north wall of a submerged island
Two route options from a 19 m anchorage down to 24 m
An arch and a cave with barracuda schools, over sand and posidonia
A small sponge-lined cavern at 22 m off the lighthouse islet