Paros & Naxos · Greece · Reef
Black Rock
A 50-minute lap of a rocky islet a mile off Alyko Bay
Area photo: kallerna · CC BY-SA 4.0
Black Rock is a small rocky islet a mile from Alyko Bay on Naxos, where the Naxos operator moors its inflatable boat. The reef around it goes down to 30 m by the operator's figure and 34 m by the site catalogue, and a full circuit of the rock takes a 50-minute dive. It is listed for Open Water divers, with beginners possible on the shallower part, and shelters octopus, moray eels, groupers, lobsters, lionfish and schools of barracuda.
Also known as Black Rock Reef.
Where it is and how deep
36.9551° N, 25.4121° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The inflatable boat is moored at Alyko Bay and the islet is a mile away. The dive is a circuit of the rock, and the operator plans 50 minutes of bottom time because that is what it takes to go all the way round. Maximum depth is listed at 30 m by the operator and 34 m in the site catalogue; beginners are taken round the shallower part of the reef.
The reef itself is the shelter for the fish: octopus, moray eels, groupers, lobsters and lionfish live on the rock, schools of barracuda pass in the open water, and seabream and parrotfish are over the reef among many other Mediterranean species. Visibility is given as 20 m and average water temperature as 22 °C. A full lap of the rock brings you back to where the dive started.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Groupers
- Barracuda
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Good | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Paros & Naxos: The Naxos centre opens mid-April to early November. The meltemi blows mid-May to mid-September, most constant in July and August, when boats keep to moorings sheltered from the north wind.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Black Rock?+
The operator lists 30 m and the site catalogue 34 m. Beginners can dive it on the shallower part of the reef.
How long is the Black Rock dive?+
About 50 minutes, which is what it takes to go all the way around the rock.
Sources
- Black Rock — Scubago
- Black Rock Reef — Blue Fin Divers
More dive sites in Paros & Naxos
Pinnacle
A single rock out of a Posidonia meadow at 25 m, a hundred metres from Tripiti
Wreck
A WWII heavy fighter at 33 m, found in 2007 after a year-long search
Wall
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Wall
The area's big fish: barracuda and amberjack schools off a wall from 10 to 40 m
Reef
Canyons and a swim-through that fill with nudibranchs late in the season
Wreck
A 1981 cargo wreck whose crane still breaks the surface; the bow section rests at 24 m
Reef
Ridge tops at 5 m, a Classical amphora, and amberjack hunting over the reef
Surface inside the cavern beneath live stalactites, lit by blue light from below
Similar dives elsewhere
Rocky plateaus and small caves stepping from 8 m down to 30 m
Grouper, barracuda and fan mussels on rocks at 18–20 m
Grouper town: rocks and reef at 16 to 30 m with barracuda schools
Barracuda circling over a reef 50 m off the beach