Elba & the Tuscan Archipelago · Italy · Wall
Picchi di Pablo
A vertical wall from a 6 m anchorage to a shrimp-filled cave at 30 m
Area photo: CTHOE · CC BY-SA 3.0
Picchi di Pablo is a wall dive off Elba's south-east coast. The boat anchors on rock at 6 m right at the top of the drop-off, and the wall falls vertically to sand at around 30 m, with a small cave full of shrimp at the bottom. White and yellow gorgonians and yellow sponges covered in shrimp grow on the face, the crevices are full of life, and fish gather in clouds around divers.
Where it is and how deep
42.7269° N, 10.4343° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The boat anchors in 6 m on the rock just above the drop-off, so the dive starts on the anchor line and there is no searching for the wall. Drop over the edge and you are on a long vertical face. Italian Wikipedia gives the range as 8 to 33 m and describes the wall as populated by white and yellow gorgonians, with yellow sponges covered in shrimp.
Descend the face to the bottom, where the wall meets sand at around 30 m. Here a small cave is full of shrimp, and this is the deepest point of the dive, so plan your no-decompression time around it. The whole wall is riddled with crevices where the life is found, so ascend slowly and work the cracks on the way back up rather than hanging in open water.
Fish form clouds around divers on this wall, which is the part most people remember, so keep the camera ready on the ascent rather than only at the cave. Finish on the shallow rock near the anchor at 6 m for the safety stop, with the drop-off below you and the fish still around, and go back up the anchor line to the boat.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
| 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 Elba & the Tuscan Archipelago: The season runs May–September with a warm October; the sea bottoms out near 14 °C in February–March, spring and autumn winds push boats to sheltered sites, and Pianosa's buoys open April–November.
Know before you go
- The base of the wall is at about 30 m on a vertical face: control buoyancy on the descent so you do not sink past your planned depth.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Picchi di Pablo?+
The boat anchors at 6 m at the top of the drop-off and the wall reaches sand at about 30 m, with a shrimp-filled cave at the bottom; one source gives the full range as 8 to 33 m.
Sources
- Picchi di Pablo — Scubago
- Isola d'Elba — Wikipedia (it)
More dive sites in Elba & the Tuscan Archipelago
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Wall
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