Reefwander
Reefwander
Full calendar

Destinations at their peak each month

  1. Jan167
  2. Feb183
  3. Mar192
  4. Apr216
  5. May186
  6. Jun272
  7. Jul307
  8. Aug313
  9. Sep296
  10. Oct180
  11. Nov119
  12. Dec145

Americas

Europe, Africa & Middle East

Indo-Pacific

Brown branching cauliflower coral colony on a sandy rocky bottom underwater — Los Cabos

Los Cabos · Mexico · Seamount · Pelagic & blue water

Gordo Banks

Hammerheads and silky sharks over a seamount peak at 30 m

Area photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Gordo Banks is a pair of deep offshore seamounts off San José del Cabo, the inner one about 11 km (7 miles) out. The Inner Gordo Banks peak rises to about 30 m (100 ft) below the surface, and the pinnacles attract hammerheads, silky sharks and tuna. It is an open-water dive for advanced divers only.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Gordo Banks: typical dive to 40 m (to 130 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit40 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

No published position for this site — the map shows Los Cabos and its other sites; operators know the mooring.

The dive

Gordo Banks is completed in open water with no reference: divers descend through the blue toward the submerged seamount rather than following a line or a slope. The peak of the Inner Gordo Banks rises to about 30 m (100 ft) below the surface, so the dive is deep from the start and runs to 40 m (130 ft).

The underwater pinnacles attract hammerheads, silky sharks and tuna, with jacks, rays and even marlin also possible. With the depth and the open-water descent, the site is for advanced divers only, and it is a separate trip from the marine park and Corridor dives, run from San José del Cabo.

Marine life and season

  • Hammerheads
  • Tuna
Month-by-month season rating for Gordo Banks
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimeFairFairGoodGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimePrime

Season follows Los Cabos: Diving runs all year. August to February brings the best conditions and clearest autumn water; mobula rays pass from May to July.

Know before you go

  • The descent is in open water with no visual reference.
  • The seamount peak is at about 30 m (100 ft) and the dive runs to 40 m (130 ft), so the whole dive is deep.

Dive videos

Gordo Banks - Mexico - Los Cabos · East Cape Explorers on YouTube

Gordo Banks - Christmas Madness // Baja California 2021 · Marine Massa on YouTube

Sources

  1. Cabo San Lucas Dive Sites | Marine Park & Corridor — Dive Cabo
  2. Shark Diving Gordo Banks | Dive Cabo Pelagic Dive Tour — Dive Cabo

More dive sites in Los Cabos

Reef

Chileno Bay

Calm water and healthy sea fans on a shallow Corridor reef

12–18 mbeginner

Reef

Gavilanes

Ridges and canyons with white tip reef sharks and groupers

12–18 mbeginner

Pinnacle

Land's End

Playful resident sea lions around a pinnacle at the tip of the peninsula

9–24 mintermediate

Wall

Middle Wall

A sheer drop to 43 m with frogfish and nudibranchs on the face

18–43 madvanced

Wall

Neptune's Finger

The largest sandfall in the marine park, beside a vertical wall

9–34 mintermediate

Wall

North Wall

A rock-covered sloping wall with morays and lobsters tucked into the reef

6–27 mintermediate

Reef

Pelican Rock

A gentle reef slope that ends at a canyon and its sandfall

5–27 mintermediate

Reef

Whale's Head

Spotted eagle rays at cleaning stations on rocky reef and sand

5–24 mintermediate

Similar dives elsewhere

Seamount

El Bajo Seamount

Sea of Cortez · Mexico

A hammerhead seamount with nothing showing at the surface

16–25 madvanced

Seamount

El Bajón

El Hierro · Spain

Twin peaks at 8 m over walls falling 80 m, in current that feeds the fish

18–40 m · max 80 madvanced

Seamount

Planet Rock

Madang & the North Coast · Papua New Guinea

Grey reef sharks on patrol and hammerheads in the deeper water

5–36 mintermediate

Seamount

E-6

Bligh Water & Vatu-i-Ra · Fiji

A pinnacle climbing 900 m to within a metre of the surface

1–40 madvanced