Halkidiki · Greece · Reef · Cave & cavern
Kartalia
Two swim-throughs, 7 m and 8 m long, in one rock
Area photo: id.nfero · CC BY-SA 3.0
A rocky reef just under a nautical mile from Toroni, also called Asprocavos, cut by two openings that divers can swim through, one 7 m long and the other 8 m. The rock's shape is what the operator sells: it makes the site work for divers of all levels, and the reef holds a full Mediterranean cast of morays, seabreams, seabass, grouper and scorpionfish.
Also known as Asprocavos.
Where it is and how deep
39.9395° N, 23.9503° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Kartalia, which the operator also calls Asprocavos, is just under 1 nautical mile out from Toroni, a short boat ride. Underwater it is a single rock rather than a spread of bottom: Azure Diving Center describes a menhir-shaped rock next to a cliff, 30 m tall and 60 m deep, and lists the site to a maximum of 60 m. The shape of the rock is the point of the dive, and the operator singles out the area's rock morphology as what makes the site suit divers of every level. The route is a tour of the rock, and the two openings that cut through it are the reason to come.
The two openings are swim-throughs, one 7 m long and the other 8 m, and both can be navigated as part of the circuit. Between them the reef holds a Mediterranean cast: moray eels in the cracks, seabreams and seabass in the water, grouper and scorpionfish on the rock, and ornate wrasses over the top. The dive ends back over the top of the reef for the ascent.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Halkidiki: Boat trips and Try Scuba run April to October; courses are sold year-round, but the sea sits around 14 °C from January to March.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Kartalia?+
The rock stands 30 m tall and reaches 60 m of depth, and the operator lists the site to a maximum of 60 m. The two swim-throughs, 7 m and 8 m long, are what most divers come for and do not require going deep.
Sources
- Kartalia - Scubago — Scubago
- Dive Sites - Azure Diving Center — Azure Diving Center
More dive sites in Halkidiki
Reef
Yellow gorgonians from 30 m, red ones deeper, on to 90 m
Reef
Old fishing nets turned into a reef, with congers and groupers underneath
Sand slope
Shore entry to a 44 m floor across a Posidonia meadow
Cave & cavern
A 40 m long cavern where shrimps, crayfish and lobsters breed
Reef
A reef fully draped in gorgonians from 27 m down
Cave & cavern
A chimney you enter at 16 m and leave at 8 m
Wall
A wall off an uninhabited goat island, starting at 5 m
Reef
A mushroom-shaped reef from 3 m to 33 m in the open Aegean
Similar dives elsewhere
Faults and small caves between 5 and 30 m, with groupers and congers in the holes
Reefs, caves and drop-offs from 5 m to 50 m by the research station
A statue of Eros on a reef of cavities and a steep drop-off
.jpg){kind=link}
A swim-through cave at 12 m beside the mooring