Medes Islands · Spain · Wall
Pota del Llop
A gorgonian wall above drop-offs past 40 m
Area photo: Alexandre Albore · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pota del Llop is a wall at the north of the Medes Islands, hung with sea fans and sponges, above drop-offs that often go to over 40 m — about the limit of recreational diving. Lobster turn up on almost every dive, octopus come out of their holes, and grouper and bream hold along the rock.
Also known as Pota de Llop, La Pota del Llop.
Where it is and how deep
42.0500° N, 3.2258° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Pota del Llop sits at the north of the Medes group, where the rock falls away instead of shelving. The dive is built around drop-offs that often go to over 40 m, about the limit of recreational diving, so the first decision belongs on the boat rather than underwater: follow the wall down towards that depth, or stay higher on the rock and swim it as a shallower wall dive.
The face itself is the reason to come. Great sea fans stand out from the rock with sponges in the shaded ground between them, and the fish diversity runs along the same band. Lobster are found on almost every dive here, octopus come out of their holes rather than staying wedged in the back of them, and grouper and bream hold off the wall.
Whichever profile you take, the ascent runs up the face rather than out into open water, so there is something to look at all the way to the safety stop. Anyone who followed the drop-off down will be through their gas and their no-stop time well before the rest of the group, so agree a turn depth beforehand and keep the team on the same plan.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Medes Islands: Jun–Sep brings the warmest water, calmest seas, and peak grouper and fish activity; most dive centers scale back Dec–Feb.
Know before you go
- The drop-off goes to over 40 m with no natural floor to stop you, so set a hard depth limit before you descend and watch gas and no-stop time on the way down.
Dive videos
Medes Islands - les Illes Medes 4/12 La Pota del Llop · Buscandoelazul on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Pota del Llop?+
The drop-offs often go to over 40 m, which is about the limit of recreational diving. The wall can also be dived shallower, and only deep-trained divers should follow the face down to its full depth.
What do you see at Pota del Llop?+
Sea fans and sponges on the wall, lobster on almost every dive, plus octopus, grouper and bream along the rock. It is a terrain dive rather than a big-animal one.
Sources
- Pota de Llop — Unisub Estartit
- Pota del Llop dive site — Costa Brava Divers
- Medes Islands — Wikipedia
More dive sites in Medes Islands
Pinnacle
The archipelago's busiest dive: a rock from 4 m to 45 m
A 5 m cave passage that comes out at Dofí Sud
Cave & cavern
Backlit galleries under Meda Petita, red coral on the wall
Cave & cavern
Limestone platform rising almost to the surface off Meda Gran
Cave & cavern
A daylit tunnel system inside Meda Gran
Cave & cavern
Tunnels cutting clean through the island at 14–24 m
Reef
Coral beds, posidonia meadow and sand in a single dive
Wall
Vertical gorgonian walls dropping to 42 m off Meda Gran
Similar dives elsewhere
A wall of dens rising from 40 m to a 5 m plateau, dived multilevel
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Flat reef to 18 m, then a wall to about 40 m
A 3-8 m plateau, then a wall the catalogue traces past 90 m