Réunion · France · Cave & cavern · Reef
Arche de Noël
A ten-metre arch cresting at 20 m, its feet on the bottom at 42 m
Area photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0
Arche de Noël is the arch dive of the Pointe au Sel ground at Saint-Leu: a rock span about ten metres across, cresting 20 m below the surface and grounded on the bottom at 42 m. Divers pass under it and, further out, swim a tunnel 37 m long. A 40 m certification is the stated minimum and no part of the dive is shallow.
Where it is and how deep
21.2028° S, 55.2808° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The descent brings you onto the top of the arch, which crests 20 m below the surface, and the span is around ten metres across with its feet on the bottom at 42 m. You can pass through it, which is the picture most divers come for, and the depth you choose to do that at sets the shape of the rest of the dive: the directory works the site as a 20 to 40 m profile and rates the surrounding relief, all peaks and plateaus, as the other half of the interest.
Continuing offshore there is a short piece of caving in a tunnel 37 m long, picked up by rising slightly as you go — small enough to feel like a swim-through and long enough to want a light. Spiny lobsters sit back in the rock, sponges grow on it, reef fish are varied over the structure and a turtle is on the site's list. From July to October it is worth paying attention on the boat as well: humpbacks and their calves pass off this coast.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Macro critters
- Whales
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Réunion: May–Oct is the dry season with the calmest water and humpbacks Jul–Oct; Jan–Mar is cyclone season.
Questions divers ask
What certification do you need for Arche de Noël?+
PE 40 is the stated minimum. The top of the arch is at 20 m, its feet are on the bottom at 42 m, and the directory works the site as a 20 to 40 m dive.
Sources
- Arche de Noël — Carte de La Réunion
More dive sites in Réunion
Wreck
A 1999 scuttling on her port side, holds full of soldierfish
A coral flat to 20 m, then a wall from 20 down to 40 m
Reef
A shore entry in the marine reserve, 4 m to a small drop-off
Cave & cavern
A collapsed reef cavern with easy galleries at 3 to 17 m
Pinnacle
Two basalt organ pipes 25 m tall, one pierced by a cave
Wall
Black sand to scree at 40 m, and a shy grouper at 50 m
A stepped wall dropping in two stages from 40 m to 70 m
Wreck
Depth figures for this scuttled lobster boat disagree by 34 metres
Similar dives elsewhere
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A canyon that passes right under the barrier reef
A cavern about 10 m high running from 15 to 30 m
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