Tenerife · Spain · Reef
El Pinque Mushrooms
Two shallow terraces ending at a pair of mushroom-shaped rock heads
A bay dive at Playa El Pinque, entered from the stairs beside the Hotel Beach Club at Hard Rock Bay. Past the breakwater, two terraces join and run at 3 to 12 metres, finishing after about twenty minutes at a pair of rock heads shaped like mushrooms. Lobsters, moray eels, octopus and cuttlefish are among the finds along the way.
Where it is and how deep
28.1194° N, 16.7774° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You go in from the stairs on either side of the Hotel Beach Club and swim out past the breakwater. Beyond it, two terraces join on the right-hand side and run at depths between 3 and 12 metres, and that is the whole of the dive — shallow enough that gas rather than the computer sets the turnaround. Keep the terrace edge on your shoulder and work along it.
The terraces end after about twenty minutes at two mushroom heads, the rock formations the site is named for, and they make the natural turn. On the way out and back the rock holds lobsters and moray eels, and octopus and cuttlefish are both about, so a slow pass along the ledges is worth more here than distance covered. The shallow finish leaves plenty of room to spend the last of the dive over the terrace tops.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Tenerife: Divable all year in 18–25°C water; Jun–Oct is warmest and calmest, and winter swell mainly affects the north coast.
Know before you go
- Both ends of the dive depend on a fixed set of stairs, so the state of the sea at that one spot decides whether the entry and the exit are comfortable — look at it before kitting up.
Questions divers ask
How deep is El Pinque Mushrooms?+
The two terraces run between 3 and 12 metres, so the dive stays inside a shallow profile from entry to exit.
Is El Pinque Mushrooms a shore dive?+
Yes. Entry and exit are via the stairs to the right and left along the Hotel Beach Club at Hard Rock Bay, Playa El Pinque, with no boat involved.
Sources
- El Pinque Mushrooms - Scubago — Scubago (SSI MyDiveGuide)
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