Costa Brava · Spain · Seamount · Wall
Ullastre II
Gorgonian walls from 25 m down to a 53 m bottom
Area photo: Mikipons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The middle of the three Ullastres, and a different dive from its shallow neighbour. The listing gives an average depth of 25 m and a bottom at 53 m, with steep walls of gorgonians and fish holding along them. It is rated CMAS two-star or Advanced Open Water, and the depth is what earns that rating.
Also known as Ullastre 2.
Where it is and how deep
41.8849° N, 3.2026° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The middle peak of the three Ullastres is a deep dive rather than a shallow one. The boat run is listed at under 30 minutes and the working depth at about 25 m, which is the level where the wall starts to run away beneath you. From there the rock falls steeply to a bottom at 53 m, past any recreational limit, so the dive is planned as a traverse along the face at a fixed depth rather than as a descent.
The walls are the reason to come: steep faces grown with gorgonians, with fish along them. Current is listed as low, under a knot, and visibility as good, between 10 and 30 m, so the face can be worked slowly in one direction and returned along a shallower line. Boat traffic is the danger the listing names for this peak; depth is the one you set yourself, because a bottom at 53 m leaves no margin for drifting down the wall.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| 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.
Know before you go
- Boat traffic is the listed danger here, so ascend on the shotline or send a marker up before you surface.
- The bottom is at 53 m and the face is steep, so fix a maximum before you leave the boat and watch the gauge along the traverse.
Sources
- Ullastre II — Scubago
- Ullastre II — Wannadive — Wannadive.net
- Palamos town to Cap de Begur — area index — Wannadive.net
- Diving in Tamariu — Submarinisme Costa Brava
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