Primošten & Rogoznica, the area around Orange Cliff

Primošten & Rogoznica · Croatia · Wall

Orange Cliff

Orange gorgonians, lobsters and swim-throughs full of nudibranchs

Area photo: Carsten Steger · CC BY-SA 4.0

Orange Cliff is a face of orange gorgonians and lobsters that the catalogue says works as an 18 m dive or a 34 m one, the point being that you do not need an advanced card to be here, only to take the shallower of the two. Pongo lists it as 10 to 30 m. The swim-throughs at the end of the dive are full of nudibranchs.

Also known as Cliff Orange.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Orange Cliff: typical dive 10–30 m (33–100 ft), deepest point 34 m (112 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit10 m30 m34 m maxtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

43.6311° N, 15.8971° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

The cliff is the whole dive, a face grown over with orange gorgonians and worked at one of two levels. The catalogue says the site is suitable to 18 m and to 34 m, and Pongo lists it as 10 to 30, so the card you hold sets the depth rather than the terrain forcing one. Lobsters are out on the face itself, with scorpionfish and seabream holding along it.

The end of the dive is the part both descriptions single out: a set of swim-throughs full of nudibranchs, which is where anyone shooting macro spends whatever gas is left, and a shallow return in the shadow of the island where a big school of seabream holds. Conger and moray eels are in the broken rock, blennies on the smaller ledges, yellow and black sponges between the gorgonian fans, and octopus anywhere there is a hole.

Marine life and season

  • Nudibranchs
  • Octopus & cuttlefish
  • Macro critters
Month-by-month season rating for Orange Cliff
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Season follows Primošten & Rogoznica: The swimming season runs June to October; Pongo prices a low season as well, so winter diving happens at around 12–15 °C.

Sources

  1. Orange Cliff — Scubago
  2. Best Dives in Croatia — Diving Center Pongo
  3. Cliff Orange — Diving Center Pongo

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