Réunion · France · Reef · Pinnacle
La Galère
Raw lava flows skinned in white and blue soft coral
Area photo: Cynomana · CC BY-SA 4.0
La Galère is a geology dive south of Saint-Pierre over old lava flows left in the raw, their surfaces taken over by white and blue soft coral. White sand lies twenty metres below the flows, and offshore a set of rock pinnacles 20 m tall marks the end of the site. The quoted profile is 20 to 40 m and level 1 divers are taken here.
Where it is and how deep
21.3722° S, 55.5569° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You swim above old lava flows that have never been reworked, still in their raw shapes, with only the surface taken over — by soft corals in white and blue that skin the rock and make the geology easier to read rather than hiding it. Twenty metres below the flows is white sand, so there is a clear floor under the whole route and the site reads as basalt canyons you fly over rather than a wall you follow.
Level 1 divers are taken over the flows, which sets the pace: the dive is quoted as 20 to 40 m and stays within sight of the rock. Out towards open water a group of rock pinnacles 20 m tall marks where the site ends. Reef fish are varied over the coral, crustaceans work the rock, turtles come through and pelagics are on the list; divers past level 1 are taken into the fissures and around the pinnacles, which the directory describes as full of life.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Macro critters
| 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.
Sources
- La galère — Carte de La Réunion
More dive sites in Réunion
Wall
A cliff that begins at 37 m and falls to 60 m in the blue
Cave & cavern
A collapsed reef cavern with easy galleries at 3 to 17 m
A coral flat to 20 m, then a wall from 20 down to 40 m
Pinnacle
Two basalt organ pipes 25 m tall, one pierced by a cave
Cave & cavern
Three arches left standing from a collapsed lava tunnel
An open-water-friendly pass with turtles and eagle rays
Wreck
Depth figures for this scuttled lobster boat disagree by 34 metres
Reef
A shore entry in the marine reserve, 4 m to a small drop-off
Similar dives elsewhere
A granite reef whose tallest boulder breaks the surface at low tide
180 m of reef with a pinnacle at each end, 10 m to 30 m
A small rock outcrop on sand, 16 m at its deepest
Shallow coral heads from 3 m with a dense garden-eel colony