Paros & Naxos · Greece · Reef
Piso Aliki
A 6 m reef at the end of a sandy shore entry, minutes from Aliki village
Area photo: kallerna · CC BY-SA 4.0
Piso Aliki is the shore site a few minutes' walk from Aliki village on Paros, used for first dives. A sandy entry from the north side of the beach leads to a reef in 6 m of water. The sand holds mullet, striped seabream, damselfish and razorfish; the reef has tube worms, octopus, nudibranchs, cardinalfish, wrasse and gobies, and the whole dive stays shallow enough for a beginner's first breaths underwater.
Where it is and how deep
36.9924° N, 25.1365° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Walk a few minutes from the village of Aliki to the beach. Enter from the sandy north side and swim out over the sand, where the first animals are already around you: mullet and striped seabream over the bottom, damselfish in the water, and razorfish on the sand. The sand leads out to the reef, which sits at 6 m and is the destination of the dive.
The reef is colourful and full of life, and at 6 m there is time to look at all of it. Tube worms open on the rock, octopus and nudibranchs are in and on it, and cardinalfish, wrasse and gobies live around it. This is the beach described as the perfect spot for first bubbles underwater, so the dive is unhurried and ends by swimming back over the sand to the beach.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
| 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 Piso Aliki?+
The reef sits in 6 m of water at the end of a sandy shore entry from the north side of the beach.
Can beginners dive at Piso Aliki?+
Yes. It is described as the perfect spot for first bubbles underwater, a few minutes' walk from Aliki village, with a reef at 6 m.
Sources
- Piso Aliki — Scubago
More dive sites in Paros & Naxos
Pinnacle
A single rock out of a Posidonia meadow at 25 m, a hundred metres from Tripiti
A collapsed-cavern arch, then a steep wall with a soft-coral overhang from 8 m
Wall
Amphorae from a pirate-era wooden wreck below a current-free wall
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
Wall
The area's big fish: barracuda and amberjack schools off a wall from 10 to 40 m
Reef
An 8 to 12 m plateau where big barracuda schools pass over nudibranch-rich rock
Reef
Canyons and a swim-through that fill with nudibranchs late in the season
Similar dives elsewhere
Black volcanic rock in 3–11 m, with octopus through the holes
Reef
Escull Negre
Tabarca & Santa Pola · Spain
Big groupers in the corridor between two rocks, all within 14 m
Reef
Trigger Reef
Kos & the Kefalos Peninsula · Greece
Nudibranchs and Flabellina affinis grazing on the reef
Reef
Escull Roig
Tabarca & Santa Pola · Spain
Sheltered 8 m dive among rocks full of small, photogenic life