An island off the Heraklion coast with a wall that starts at the surface and drops past 60 m very quickly. Visibility is good and there is enough life on the rock to hold attention, but the profile does the choosing here: this is a site for divers with the experience to set a depth and hold it.
Where it is and how deep
35.4356° N, 25.2751° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The wall begins at the surface, which makes the descent simple: you get in beside the rock and drop down its face. It falls fast, past 60 m, so the depth you dive is a decision made on the boat rather than in the water. Pick a level, get to it, and swim the face rather than chasing the bottom, which keeps going long after your gas plan says to stop.
Along the face there is enough life on the rock to slow the swim down, and the water is clear enough to keep the wall in sight above and below you. Come back up the same face and let the shallow end of it cover the safety stop; because the rock reaches the surface, there is no blue-water hang at the end of the dive.
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 | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Crete: April to November is the season, warmest from July to September; the summer meltemi can blow out the exposed north-coast sites for a day or two at a time.
Know before you go
- The wall passes 60 m within a short swim and there is no ledge to arrest a descent, so agree a maximum depth before the dive and set a computer alarm rather than trusting judgement at depth.
Sources
- Paximadi Island — Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Crete
Reef
A 400-year-old anchor at 32 m, with more scattered around it
Barracuda circling over a reef 50 m off the beach
Cave & cavern
A fixed rope up a siphon into an air pocket inside the cliff
Reef
A tunnel entered at 14 m that lets you out at 8 m
A Bf 109 upside down on sand, its guns and ammunition still in place
Wreck
A sugar carrier lost in 1985, lying in 12-16 m
Reef
Amphorae and ancient wreck remains along a 300 m rock
Wall
Drop-off, canyons and a cavern on the Plakias coast
Similar dives elsewhere
A wall off an uninhabited goat island, starting at 5 m
An islet whose walls drop towards 60 m, five minutes from shore
Plateau at 7 m, wall to 60 m, several hundred metres long
A sunken lighthouse antenna ringed by thousands of anthias