Praslin & La Digue, the area around Scorpion Rock

Praslin & La Digue · Seychelles · Pinnacle

Scorpion Rock

One giant boulder, 10 to 25 m, with sharks on the granite

Area photo: Tobias Alt, Tobi 87 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Scorpion Rock is a single gigantic granitic boulder east of Praslin, 20 to 25 minutes out by boat, with depths from 10 to 25 m. At low tide the top of the rock shows above the water. Whitetip and grey reef sharks are seen here, and coral hind, palette surgeonfish, giant trevally, barracuda and blue-spot rock lobster are on the granite itself.

Also known as Scorpion Rock Praslin.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Scorpion Rock: typical dive 10–25 m (33–82 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit10 m25 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

4.3281° S, 55.8112° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

Scorpion Rock is one gigantic granitic boulder rather than a reef, and the dive is a circuit of it. Depth ranges from 10 m near the top of the rock to 25 m at its base, so the profile steps up the boulder as the dive goes on. At low tide the top of it sticks out of the water, which makes the site easy to find and gives the boat something to sit beside while the group is down.

The granite carries the fish. Whitetip and grey reef sharks are the ones divers watch for, giant trevally and barracuda are on the list too, and on the stone itself there are coral hind, palette surgeonfish and blue-spot rock lobster back in the cracks. Green and hawksbill turtles are logged on the rock as well. Because the site is one structure, navigation is simple: keep the boulder on one shoulder and the dive ends where it started.

Marine life and season

  • Reef sharks
  • Trevally & jacks
  • Barracuda
  • Sea turtles
Month-by-month season rating for Scorpion Rock
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodPrimePrimeGoodFairFairFairFairGoodPrimeGood

Season follows Praslin & La Digue: The southeast monsoon runs from May to September; the water is windiest and the visibility thinnest in July and August, while March, April and November log the clearest water.

Know before you go

  • The top of the boulder sticks out of the water at low tide and sits just beneath it otherwise, so keep the ascent and the boat's approach clear of rock that may be invisible from the surface.

Sources

  1. Scorpion Rock Praslin dive site — Scubago

More dive sites in Praslin & La Digue

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Anse Petit Cour

Five minutes out, around 5 m, in a bay that stays calm

to 5 mbeginner

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Aride Bank

Granite bank with whitetip, nurse and grey reef sharks

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Ave Maria

Granite canyons in the channel between Praslin and La Digue

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Booby Island

Big granite passages, 20 minutes out from Praslin

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Channel Rock

A granite reef whose tallest boulder breaks the surface at low tide

10–25 mintermediate

Coral garden

Coral Garden

A shallow coral reef five to ten minutes off Praslin

10–15 mintermediate

Drift

Marianne

A granite drift with blacktip and whitetip reef sharks

12–25 mintermediate

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Red Point

Granite boulders inside Curieuse Marine National Park

10–20 mintermediate

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