Musandam · Oman · Pinnacle · Wall · Reef
Lima Rock
Caves and overhangs north, a wall past 60 m east
Area photo: Nicola Crockford · CC BY 4.0
Lima Rock is a limestone island off the east coast of the Musandam peninsula, 640 m out from the headland of Ras Lima, and it is dived as two sites, north and south. Its cliffs carry on underwater as vertical drops of more than 60 m, the shallower north side is cut with caves and overhangs, and shoals of barracuda, batfish, jacks, tuna and sardines work the rock.
Also known as Lima Rock North, Lima Rock South.
Where it is and how deep
25.9424° N, 56.4668° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The rock is dived as two sites, north and south, on a run out of Dibba that takes about fifty minutes to reach it. The north side is the shallower of the two and still runs to around 30 m; it is the better known half, a face cut with caves, crevices and overhangs with healthy coral formations growing on the rock between them.
The east side is the deep one. The island is limestone with steep cliffs above water, and they carry straight on below it as vertical drops to more than 60 m, so the dive there is a wall: hold your depth, keep the rock on one shoulder and turn to the open water for schooling tuna, jacks and rays. A cleaning station on the exposed eastern end has produced whale sharks, rays and sunfish, so it is worth watching the blue as well as the wall.
Close in, the rock is a macro dive as much as a fish dive. Black coral and purple soft corals grow on the steeper faces, yellow-mouth morays sit back in the crevices, and whitetip reef sharks rest on the sand at the base. Large shoals of barracuda, batfish, jacks, tuna and sardines are common visitors, and a slow pass along the rock is the better plan on a green day.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Tuna
- Whale sharks
- Mola mola
- Reef sharks
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Musandam: Oct–May is the comfortable window; midsummer brings 32°C water, plankton blooms and punishing surface heat.
Know before you go
- Current at the rock runs strong and follows the tide, so operators rate it as a dive for experienced divers and plan it around the flow.
- Musandam visibility is unpredictable, roughly 5 to 20 m and sometimes changing between dives; a reef hook and an SMB are recommended kit here.
Dive videos
Diving Musandam, Oman, Lima Rock North Apr 28, 2017 · Vance Stevens on YouTube
Diving Lima Rock South maybe last time with Nomad Ocean Adventures · Vance Stevens on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Lima Rock?+
The north side is the shallower of the two dives and still runs to about 30 m. The island's cliffs continue underwater as vertical drops of more than 60 m, so on the east side depth is set by your plan rather than by the bottom.
How do you get to Lima Rock?+
By boat from Dibba: about fifty minutes from Dibba al Bayah fishing port, and within the two-hour run that covers the rest of the sites on this stretch of coast.
What can you see at Lima Rock?+
Large shoals of barracuda, batfish, jacks, tuna and sardines, with whale sharks, rays and sunfish recorded at the cleaning station on the exposed eastern end. Closer in there are black and soft corals, yellow-mouth morays and resting whitetip reef sharks.
Sources
- Freestyle Divers: Lima Rock (archived) — Freestyle Divers
- Dschazirat Lima (Lima Rock) — Wikipedia
- Musandam, Oman diving guide — Divezone
- OpenStreetMap: Lima Island — OpenStreetMap
In The Logbook
- Sunfish diving: where and when to see a molaBig animals · 11 min read
- Where to dive with whale sharks, month by monthBig animals · 16 min read
Similar dives elsewhere
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