Galápagos · Ecuador · Pinnacle · Wall · Pelagic & blue water
Darwin's Arch
Hold position at 18–24 m while hammerhead schools pass the plateau
Photo: Jonathan Green · CC BY 4.0
Darwin's Arch is the dive at the northern end of the Galápagos: a submerged plateau about a kilometre off Darwin Island, once marked by the rock arch that collapsed in 2021. Divers drop onto a rocky slope and hold position between 18 and 24 metres while scalloped hammerheads, Galápagos sharks and, from early July, whale sharks pass along the blue edge.
Also known as Pillars of Evolution, Arco de Darwin.
Where it is and how deep
1.6720° N, 91.9907° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
You drop onto the rocky slope below the submerged plateau the boats call the theatre, roughly a kilometre off Darwin Island. Find a place to settle somewhere between 18 and 24 metres, get low and stop swimming: the ledge sits atop a wall that is a little sheltered from the strong current running past it. This is a dive you hold rather than a route you swim.
From there the dive is watching rather than touring. Scalloped hammerheads come through along the blue edge, with Galápagos sharks and white-tipped reef sharks over the same ground, and big-eye jacks, yellowfin tuna and bonito working the water above. Green and hawksbill turtles, barracuda, Moorish idols and eagle rays cross the site, and dolphins pass through as well.
Whale sharks are why many divers book the northern crossing at all. The first animals arrive in early July and they are large, recorded here at up to 14 metres, so the open water off the ledge is worth watching between shark passes. Manta rays use the same water. The arch itself is no longer overhead: it fell in 2021, and the columns of rock left standing have been nicknamed the Pillars of Evolution.
Background
The arch that named the site stood roughly a kilometre from Darwin Island on an irregularly shaped submerged plateau nicknamed the theatre. On 17 May 2021 at 11:20 a.m. Galápagos time it collapsed into the sea, and Ecuador's Ministry of Environment stated that "this event was a consequence of natural erosion. Darwin's Arch is made of natural stone." The columns of rock that remain have since been nicknamed the Pillars of Evolution. The water around them has been protected since the Galápagos Marine Reserve was created in 1986.
Marine life and season
- Hammerheads
- Whale sharks
- Reef sharks
- Eagle rays
- Manta rays
- Tuna
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
- Sea turtles
- Dolphins
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Galápagos: Whale sharks pass from June to November; the sea is calmer, warmer and clearer from December to May.
Know before you go
- Current across the plateau runs strong. Divers stay low on the rock and hold position at the ledge rather than swimming against the flow.
Photos from Darwin's Arch
refractor · CC BY 2.0
Scopoli · CC BY 4.0
seastung · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Episode 4 - Diving Darwin's Arch - Galapagos Series - English · Sabrina Inderbitzi on YouTube
Diving with HAMMERHEAD SHARKS at Darwin's Arch | 4K · egoceanic on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the dive at Darwin's Arch?+
The working profile is a rocky slope where divers settle between 18 and 24 metres and hold position, out of the worst of the current, watching the wall and the water above it.
When can you see whale sharks at Darwin?+
Whale sharks start arriving in early July, and the animals recorded at Darwin reach up to 14 metres in length. Manta rays, yellowfin tuna and bonito use the same open water off the ledge.
Can you dive Darwin's Arch on a day trip?+
No. Darwin and Wolf, the two northern islands, are accessible only via liveaboard cruises, so the site is dived as part of a multi-day northern itinerary.
Sources
- Darwin's Arch — Wikipedia
- Galapagos Islands — Wikivoyage
- Diving Sites Galapagos - Darwin & Wolf Island — Dive The World
- Galápagos National Park — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- A whale shark glides through open blue water past a school of smaller fish. by Jonathan Green, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- The intact rock arch rising from the sea off Darwin Island, before it collapsed. by refractor, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Two bare rock pillars standing in open ocean where the arch once stood. by Scopoli, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A harlequin bass rests on sand near coral rubble at the base of the site. by seastung, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Where to dive in every month of the yearTrip planning · 14 min read
- What is decompression sickness (the bends)?Body & health · 18 min read
- How long to wait before flying after divingBody & health · 8 min read
- Where to dive with whale sharks, month by monthBig animals · 16 min read
- When and where to dive with hammerheadsBig animals · 16 min read
- Liveaboard vs resort diving: which suits you?Trip planning · 6 min read
More dive sites in Galápagos
Similar dives elsewhere
A rock small enough to swim around, sharks on every side
Pinnacle
Mansi Reef (Marker 42)
Yanbu & the Seven Reefs · Saudi Arabia
A lone coral column where hammerheads patrol the open water
Oceanic mantas and hammerheads over rock rising from 45 m
_Darwin%27s_arch_in_January_2024.jpg){kind=link}
Grey reefs and hammerheads off an exposed pinnacle