Jardines de la Reina · Cuba · Seamount
El Faro
A seamount topping out at 6 m with current-fed pelagics
Area photo: Alex Chernikh · CC BY 2.5
El Faro is a seamount rising from over 30 m to within 6 m of the surface, and the current running across it is what brings the fish in. Schools of horse-eye jacks and barracuda hold over the top, with manta rays and, between July and November, whale sharks possible in the blue. Boats favour it for an earlier morning dive, when the current is mild.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Jardines de la Reina and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
El Faro is a favourite for an earlier morning dive, when the current is mild. The seamount rises from over 30 m of water to within 6 m of the surface, so you can pick the depth that suits the plan: down the flank for the structure, or up on the crown where the light is and the schooling fish sit.
Here the current is the point rather than the obstacle. It pushes across the top and stacks the fish up, with horse-eye jacks in tight schools and barracuda hanging almost still in the flow. Get in behind the structure, stop finning and watch the open water, which is where anything larger shows: manta rays pass over the summit, and whale sharks are a possibility from July through November.
Because the top of the seamount sits at 6 m, the end of the dive looks after itself. Come up the slope, hold the safety stop over the crown and keep the tender in mind. The same current that stacks the fish over the summit will push a diver off the structure as soon as you stop watching your position on it, so finish the dive with the seamount in sight.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
- Manta rays
- Whale sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime |
Season follows Jardines de la Reina: Best conditions run November–May; summer stays diveable but hot, and September–October carries the peak hurricane risk.
Know before you go
- The current that draws the fish also sets the risk here: boats favour an early dive, when it is mild. Carry an SMB and stay with the group so the tender can follow anyone pushed off the seamount.
Questions divers ask
When can you see whale sharks at El Faro?+
Whale sharks are a possibility from July through November, alongside the manta rays and schooling jacks that the current draws to the seamount. Neither is guaranteed on any given dive.
Sources
- Cuba Diving, Jardines de la Reina Dive Sites — Dive The World
In The Logbook
- Do you need a safety stop? What it buys youBody & health · 11 min read
- Where to dive with whale sharks, month by monthBig animals · 16 min read
More dive sites in Jardines de la Reina
The reserve's signature reef shark dive, at 25 to 30 m
Pinnacle
Four sunlit tunnels bored through a coral mountain
Reef
Tarpon and jack schools over a drop-off at 25 m
A vertical wall plated with black coral and tube sponges
Similar dives elsewhere
Utila's blue-water seamount, with whale sharks passing over
Off the plateau edge to the tip of the Eye of the Needle
Three pinnacles at 17 m over a mountain falling past 300 m
A hammerhead seamount with nothing showing at the surface