Guadeloupe · Guadeloupe · Coral garden · Reef · Wall
Jardin de Corail
Hawksbill turtles and jack schools over protected coral
Photo: Christophe Foucault · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jardin de Corail is the shallow coral ground off the Pigeon islets, and snorkellers and certified divers work the same protected reef. Hawksbill turtles graze here, and bigeye jacks and schools of tropical fish move across the coral. At one edge a drop-off holds barracuda and wahoo and leads down to the bust of Commandant Cousteau at 12 m.
Where it is and how deep
16.1671° N, 61.7883° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
Site maps published elsewhere
The dive
The boat picks up one of the reserve's fixed moorings about 1.3 km off the beach at Malendure, and you drop straight onto protected coral reef. This is the gentle end of the Réserve Cousteau, shallow enough that snorkellers work the surface directly above the divers. Hawksbill turtles graze on the reef, bigeye jacks pass overhead and schools of tropical fish move across the coral, which is what most of the dive is spent looking at.
At one edge of the coral the ground falls away into a drop-off, and that is where the site changes. Barracuda and wahoo hold along it, and following the wall leads to the bust of Commandant Cousteau on the bottom at 12 m. The operator points that route at more experienced divers, so newer divers and snorkellers stay on the coral above while the rest of the group takes the wall.
Background
The seabed around the Pigeon islets has been a core zone of the Guadeloupe National Park since 2009, and the protection is enforced rather than nominal: every boat in the reserve picks up a fixed mooring, and nothing anchors. The operators working the site credit those moorings with keeping the corals, the sponges and the rest of the reserve's marine life intact.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
- Barracuda
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Guadeloupe: Dec–May is the dry season with the calmest water; Aug–Oct brings hurricane risk and the heaviest rain.
Photos from Jardin de Corail
Antoine Cupial · CC BY-SA 4.0
Antoine Cupial · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Plongée Guadeloupe | Jardin de corail | Réserve Cousteau · Yoan Debaud on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can beginners dive the Jardin de Corail?+
Yes. The operator describes the site as accessible to everyone from snorkellers to experienced divers, so the shallow coral ground suits Open Water divers and snorkellers. The adjoining drop-off, which runs down to the Cousteau bust at 12 m, is the part pointed at more experienced divers.
How do you get to the Jardin de Corail?+
By boat from Malendure, on Basse-Terre's west coast. The Pigeon islets sit about 1.3 km from the dive centre on the beach, and boats tie to the reserve's fixed moorings rather than anchoring.
Sources
- Réserve Cousteau — Spots de plongée — Les Heures Saines
- Le Jardin de Corail (OpenStreetMap) — OpenStreetMap contributors
Photo credits
- Dark branching coral colonies rising off the sandy seabed with sunlight filtering through blue water. by Christophe Foucault, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A hawksbill turtle swimming low over a coral-covered rock formation. by Antoine Cupial, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Yellow tube sponge and mixed coral heads with small reef fish swimming past. by Antoine Cupial, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Where to dive with sea turtlesBig animals · 15 min read
More dive sites in Guadeloupe
The park's main drop-off, 10 m down to 45 m
Cousteau's bust at 12 m in the reserve he asked for
Wreck
A 49 m freighter sunk as a reef, upright at 40 m
Reef
Green turtles gather here after dark
Reef
Two platforms, 15 m and 30 m, on one rope
Sand slope
Sand, sponges and coral, with a wall dropping to 40 m
Reef
A circular bottom feature at 20 to 25 m
Reef
Seahorses in the seagrass at the end of the dive
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Coral garden
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A small wall from 6 to 15 m packed with gorgonians
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Nineteenth-century anchors lie along a wall that drops past 975 m
Bioluminescent glow after dark gave this reef its ghost name