Isla de la Plata · Ecuador · Reef · Drift · Wall · Pelagic & blue water
Bajo Copé
Giant manta rays over an offshore bank, 16 m at its deepest
Area photo: Florent Figon (ffigon) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Bajo Copé is an offshore bank around 20 nautical miles out from Puerto López, listed as reef, wall, drift and ocean and dived in one profile that bottoms out at 16 m. It is the site divers make the long crossing for: manta rays, turtles, groupers and octopus over the rock, with sharks, whales and dolphins among the common sightings. June to October is the giant manta season.
Also known as Bajo Cope.
Where it is and how deep
1.5832° S, 81.1450° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The entry is a boat drop straight onto the bank, roughly 20 nautical miles offshore, so you are committed to the site once the skipper finds it. The whole dive sits inside a 16 m maximum, which keeps no-decompression time generous and leaves room to stay down while animals come past rather than chasing them at depth.
The site is listed as reef, wall, drift and ocean, so the profile combines all four rather than being one of them: coral and rock over the bank, a wall section, and a drift when current runs across it. Turtles, groupers and octopus work the reef, and there is a wide variety of corals and colourful reef fish with them. The water sits between 22 and 26°C through the year.
The animals people come for are the manta rays, and the boats plan the season around them: June to October is the period of the giant manta rays. Sharks, whales and dolphins are all listed as common sightings in the same water, so a dive here can be interrupted by something passing in the blue rather than by anything on the reef.
Marine life and season
- Manta rays
- Sea turtles
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Whales
- Dolphins
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Isla de la Plata: Jun–Oct combines the oceanic manta season with humpback whales; Jan–Apr is warmer and clearer but the big animals are largely absent.
Dive videos
BUCEO CON MANTAS -BAJO COPE ECUADOR · Tortuga Divers Dive Center on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Bajo Copé?+
The site is dived to a maximum of 16 m, so the profile is shallow for an offshore bank and no-decompression time is rarely the limiting factor.
When is the best time to dive Bajo Copé?+
June to October, which is the giant manta ray season on the bank. Water temperature over the year runs 22–26°C.
What certification do I need for Bajo Copé?+
Open Water is the stated minimum. Advanced Open Water is recommended, and it is the sensible level given the drift and the 20-nautical-mile offshore position.
Sources
- Bajo Cope Dive Site — PADI
In The Logbook
- Where to dive with manta rays, month by monthBig animals · 8 min read
Similar dives elsewhere
Caribbean reef sharks along a steep west-facing cliff
A manta cleaning station on Isabela's shoreline, current gentler than Darwin or Wolf
Christ Under the Waters, a damaged statue standing at 24 m
A shallow reef-top drift where dolphins and turtles turn up