La Palma · Spain · Pinnacle · Cave & cavern · Reef
Dos Hermanas
Three offshore rocks, two tunnels through the biggest
Area photo: Frank Vincentz · CC BY-SA 3.0
Three rocks stand off the beach at Los Guirres, close to the Tazacorte wharf, and the largest of them, furthest out, is cut by two tunnels that run right through it. Below, an underwater cliff between twenty and thirty metres leads into a maze of near-identical formations. Turtles are the draw in the shallows, big rays and black stingrays on the deeper sand.
Also known as Los Guirres, Las Hermanas, 2 Hermanas.
Where it is and how deep
28.6096° N, 17.9236° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
Three rocks break the surface off Los Guirres and the dive works out along them. A shoal of bastard grunts usually comes along for the swim to the first; at the second, turtles are common enough that the site is used for shallow turtle watching, and one has come in to swim among a group rather than away from it. The largest rock, furthest from the coast, is pierced by two tunnels running through it from one side to the other.
From that rock the route drops onto the sand and follows the underwater cliff that forms between twenty and thirty metres, with the bottom at 35 m below it. South of the largest rock the ground becomes a maze: the formations there are laid out the same way and look so alike that they can confuse your navigation, so it is worth holding a bearing. Large rays and black stingrays work the deeper sand.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Stingrays
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows La Palma: Diving runs year round; the south-coast centre rates September to November best, when the trade winds ease and the water is warmest. Dives and boat transits inside the marine reserve are capped.
Sources
- Los Guirres — Scubago
- Guía de Buceo La Palma 2019 — Cabildo de La Palma / Oceanográfica
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Pinnacle
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