Puerto Madryn & Península Valdés · Argentina · Reef
Punta Cuevas
Colourful polyps and an invasive-kelp case study in 6-10 m
Area photo: ElGuruCesar · CC BY-SA 4.0
Punta Cuevas is a shallow rocky reef 10 minutes by boat from Puerto Madryn, dived in 6 to 10 m of water and rated low difficulty. Its ledges are thick with fish and colourful encrusting polyps, and the reef doubles as a visible case study in how the invasive Asian kelp Undaria pinnatifida can reshape a rocky habitat.
Where it is and how deep
42.7813° S, 64.9990° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The boat ride from Puerto Madryn takes about 10 minutes, dropping you onto a shallow rocky reef — a restinga — in 6 to 10 m of water. It's a low-difficulty site on the same coastal route that continues on to Punta Loma, and the ledges here are densely populated with fish and a wide variety of colourful encrusting polyps.
The reef also shows the effects of Undaria pinnatifida, an invasive Asian kelp that has spread across the rock and changed the habitat it covers — divers can see the contrast between reef sections already colonised by the kelp and those still dominated by native growth, before ascending back to the boat.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Puerto Madryn & Península Valdés: Sea lion dives run best Sep–Mar when the colony is busiest; right whales are present Jun–Dec, and winter water drops to about 9°C.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Punta Cuevas?+
The reef sits in 6 to 10 m of water and is rated low difficulty, making it one of the area's easier dives.
Sources
- Buceo en Puerto Madryn — Lobo Larsen Buceo
- Excursiones — Scuba Duba Buceo
More dive sites in Puerto Madryn & Península Valdés
Wreck
An intact, penetrable wreck purpose-sunk in 1994
Wreck
A 60 m fishing boat on its side in 10 m of water
Reef
Juvenile sea lions spiral around divers in 6 m of water
Reef
One of six protected reserves on the outer peninsula
Similar dives elsewhere
13 m, sheltered and currentless: the region's first-dive island
Rock passages on the bottom and a cave that opens to the surface
Wreckage of the Granada scattered across the cove floor
Fishing anchors lost in the boulders off the Laje's west side