Fuerteventura · Spain · Reef · Cave & cavern
Bajo de la Vieja
A false ceiling right around a 10 m shoal off Corralejo
Area photo: H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0
An oval shoal a short distance off the beaches of Corralejo, shallow enough at 10 metres to suit divers of any level. A false ceiling runs the entire perimeter of the main rock, with bigeyes, breams and groupers under it, and to the west a group of massive loose rocks forms an underwater maze. Large stingrays lie on the sand.
Where it is and how deep
28.7314° N, 13.8455° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
An oval-shaped shoal lying a short distance off the beaches of Corralejo, with nothing on it below 10 metres. That shallow maximum is the character of the dive: the light is good, bottom time is long, and a group can go round the rock more than once without the profile ever becoming the thing being managed.
A false ceiling runs the entire perimeter of the main rock, and working along under it is the dive. Bigeyes, breams and groupers sit in the shade of that overhang, with moray eels and crabs back in the rock behind them. To the west, a group of massive loose rocks forms a maze that can be threaded through on the way round.
Out on the open ground large stingrays lie on the sand, and in summer eagle rays are frequently seen over the shoal. Because the site is shallow all the way across, it works as the second tank of a day that started deeper, as a check dive at the beginning of a week, or as the long camera dive that a 10 metre maximum makes possible.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Reef fish swarms
- Stingrays
- Eagle rays
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Fuerteventura: Divable in every month; water runs 18–23°C, coolest in late winter and warmest from August into October, and the desert climate keeps conditions mild.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Bajo de la Vieja?+
The maximum is 10 metres across the whole shoal, which is why it is described as a good site for divers of any level.
When can you see eagle rays at Bajo de la Vieja?+
In summer. Eagle rays are frequently observed over the shoal in the warm months, while large stingrays are on the sand and moray eels and crabs shelter in the rock year round.
Sources
- Bajo de la Vieja dive site — Scubago
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