Roatán, the area around Land of the Giants

Roatán · Honduras · Wall · Reef

Land of the Giants

Steep cracked wall over sand that starts at 25 m and keeps going

Area photo: Luis Alfredo Romero · CC BY-SA 4.0

Land of the Giants lies on Roatan's north shore, well east of the West End and West Bay moorings. A shallow top reef at about 5 m gives way to a steep wall with lots of cracks and canyons running east, and below the wall a slightly sloping sandy bottom starts at around 25 m and falls away past 35 m.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Land of the Giants: typical dive 5–35 m (15–115 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit5 m35 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

16.3685° N, 86.5086° WPublished position for this site.

The dive

The site is layered, so the plan is usually to work it from the bottom up. Drop down the wall face, which is steep and broken by cracks and canyons running east - there is enough relief here to spend the deep part of the dive inside the structure rather than swimming past a flat surface. Below the wall the ground turns to a slightly sloping sandy bottom at around 25 m and keeps falling away past 35 m.

Save the shallow reef for last. The top of the reef is at about 5 m, so once you come up off the wall there is a bright, easy shelf to finish on and it doubles as a long safety stop. Work the ascent along the face rather than straight up it: the cracks and canyons that make the deep part worth diving carry on into the shallows, and they are easier to look into with gas in hand and no depth to watch.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Land of the Giants
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeFairFairGoodGood

Season follows Roatán: March–August is driest with the calmest seas; October–January brings the Bay Islands' rainier season and reduced visibility.

Know before you go

  • The sand below the wall starts near 25 m and keeps sloping past 35 m, so there is no natural stopping point - set a bottom depth before you go down the face.

Sources

  1. Land of the Giants — Scubago

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