Kornati Islands · Croatia · Wall · Reef
Garden
A step at 30 m falling to a fan-coral plateau at 45 m
Area photo: ANDREJ NEUHERZ · CC BY-SA 3.0
A deep drop-off where a step at approximately 30 m breaks away into a huge plateau at 45 m. The rock is densely covered with fan corals, red and colour-changing, along with Savalia. Depth rather than distance is what limits the dive: the plateau lies past recreational limits, so the step and the wall above it are where the time gets spent.
Where it is and how deep
43.6595° N, 15.5217° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You descend onto the upper rock and follow it down until the ground runs out. At approximately 30 m a step breaks off, and from that lip the site opens into a huge plateau lying at 45 m. The wall and the step are the reason to come: they are densely covered with fan corals, both red and colour-changing, along with Savalia, so the rock reads as growth rather than stone once the light starts to go.
The plateau at 45 m is past recreational depth, so the dive is planned around the step rather than the sand, and the profile comes back up the same wall it descended. Fan corals are what the source singles out here, growing in colour along the drop-off. Octopus, spiny seahorse, common seahorse and nudibranchs have all been logged on the site, so the shallower rock rewards a slow look on the way up.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Kornati Islands: The park licenses diving Apr–Oct, warmest Jul–Sep; the bura wind closes the exposed outer walls at short notice.
Know before you go
- The plateau at 45 m is past recreational depth and narcosis is a real factor, so the step at 30 m is the working ceiling for anyone without deep training.
- There is nothing shallow beneath the drop-off, so the dive ends on your gas and your gauge rather than on the bottom.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Garden dive site?+
A step breaks off at approximately 30 m and turns into a plateau at 45 m. The plateau is beyond recreational depth, so most dives are planned along the drop-off at around 30 m.
What do you see at Garden?+
The rock is densely covered with fan corals, red and colour-changing, and with Savalia. Octopus, nudibranchs, spiny seahorse and common seahorse have all been logged on the site.
Sources
- Garden dive site — Scubago
More dive sites in Kornati Islands
Red gorgonian colonies on the seabed instead of the wall
A terrace at 26 m packed with red fan corals and sponges
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Uninhabited islet on the park's authorised diving list
Wall
Yellow gorgonians on one face of the wall, red on the other
Wall
Beginner platform above a gorgonian drop-off starting at 30 m
Wall
Gorgonians in several colours at 35 m below a cup-coral slope
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A small sponge-lined cavern at 22 m off the lighthouse islet
One of nine zones where the park authorises diving
Similar dives elsewhere
A north-south drop-off from a 5 m rock head into 45 m
Two dives in one: an easier south side to 35 m, a deep north side past 40 m
Rare false black coral on the points at 50 m
One-way along the Peñón to 27 m, ending in the arches of Los Arcos