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: Apr–Nov is the season with Jun–Oct warmest; the meltemi blows hardest in July and August and closes the north coast.
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
Wreck
A sugar carrier lost in 1985, lying in 12-16 m
Cave & cavern
A fixed rope up a siphon into an air pocket inside the cliff
Fossil dwarf-elephant bones in a chamber that still holds air
Seagrass, sand and rock in 7 m, straight off the beach
Reef
Cool, fresh-fed water over rocky patches to 15 m
Wall
A vertical wall dropping to 40 m, 15 minutes out by boat
Reef
A tunnel entered at 14 m that lets you out at 8 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A wall off an uninhabited goat island, starting at 5 m
Plateau at 7 m, wall to 60 m, several hundred metres long
An islet whose walls drop towards 60 m, five minutes from shore
Flat reef to 18 m, then a wall to about 40 m