Costa Brava · Spain · Reef
Els Tres Arcs - Els Canons
Three granite arches on a 12 m shore route
Area photo: Xavigivax · CC BY-SA 3.0
A shore dive close in along the Blanes granite, threading between blocks to three underwater arches that give the site its name. The catalogue route has a maximum of 12 metres and Blanes-Sub lists the site at 15, so it stays shallow throughout and both rate it as a relaxed dive for all levels.
Also known as Els 3 Arcs.
Where it is and how deep
41.6729° N, 2.8036° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The route runs close to the coast rather than out from it, over and between granite blocks in shallow water, and the three arches are what you are there to find. The catalogue caps the itinerary at 12 metres and Blanes-Sub gives the site 15, so the whole dive sits in the depth band where light is still strong and colour survives, which is worth more on granite than it sounds.
Because the maximum depth is so modest, the limit on the dive is air rather than time or decompression, and a slow pace through the blocks is the right way to work it. The catalogue calls it a relaxed dive ideal for all types of divers, and the shore entry means it works equally as a first dive of a trip, a check dive or a second dive after something deeper offshore.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Costa Brava: Water holds above 20 °C from June to October and tops out around 25–26 °C in August; winter dives run at 12–14 °C.
Sources
- Els Tres Arcs - Els Canons - Scubago — Scubago
- Blanes-Sub dive sites — Blanes-Sub
More dive sites in Costa Brava
Reef
23 m at the top, 35 m at the bottom, deep ticket required
Beach entry along the jetty to about 7 m
Two route options from a 19 m anchorage down to 24 m
Reef
Low granite at 30 m, half a mile off Sa Palomera
Reef
Rock steps from an 18 m anchorage down to 25 m
Anchor line into the canyon between two rocks
Pinnacle
Underwater mountain five minutes out of Blanes port
Pre-coralligenous rock from 17 to 30 m, dived day and night
Similar dives elsewhere
A shore dive 30 m from the base, inside a buoy line
A wide scree field at 8-14 m for slow hunting
Shallow cove diving at the foot of the Cabo de Palos lighthouse
A pool ladder into a cove of nudibranchs and shrimp