Costa Brava · Spain · Reef · Sand slope
El Montiell
Large congers on a rock seven minutes from Tamariu
Area photo: Mikipons · CC BY-SA 3.0
A coffee-bean-shaped rock surrounded by sand, seven minutes by boat from the Tamariu dive centre, with a maximum depth of 24 m and an average around 18 m. Its shape makes it easy to navigate, it is protected from currents and waves, and large congers are abundant — which is why the catalogue also lists it as Conger Reef.
Also known as Conger Reef, Roca Montiell.
Where it is and how deep
41.9163° N, 3.2147° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The run is seven minutes from the dive centre, and the reef is described as protected from currents and waves, which makes it the one to use when the sea elsewhere is up. The rock is shaped like a coffee bean and stands alone on sand, so a circuit of it is the dive — down one side, round the end, back along the other, with the sand as the boundary that keeps you found. The average is about 18 m and the deepest ground 24 m.
The holes in the rock are what to work. Large congers are abundant here and morays are easy to find, along with forkbeard, the occasional small lobster and squat lobsters in the cracks. Sunfish turn up for divers with luck on their side, and more rarely an electric ray. Current is listed as none and the site is rated for all divers, so the pace can stay slow enough to look into everything.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Costa Brava: Surface water sits near 13 °C from January to March and peaks around 25 °C in August; local guidance is 5 mm in July and August, 7 mm April to June and September to October, drysuit the rest.
Sources
- Montiell / Conger Reef — Scubago
- El Montiell — Wannadive — Wannadive.net
- Diving in Tamariu — Submarinisme Costa Brava
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