Reefwander
A large mustard-yellow brain coral head surrounded by reef fish on a shallow Providenciales reef — Turks & Caicos

Turks & Caicos · Turks & Caicos Islands · Wall · Cave & cavern

Highway to Heaven

Garden eels on the sand at 15 m, coral arches at 30 m

Area photo: SNORKELINGDIVES.COM · CC BY 2.0

At the north end of West Caicos, the dive begins in 15 m on a sand flat with a large colony of garden eels before the ground runs out to the wall. Coral arches and swim-throughs sit at around 24 to 30 m, stingrays play in the sand, and there is a lot of large marine life with frequent shark sightings.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Highway to Heaven: typical dive 15–30 m (50–100 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit15 m30 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

21.6664° N, 72.4497° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive begins in 15 m at the north end of West Caicos, on a sand flat with a large colony of garden eels. They are worth a few minutes on the way past, since they withdraw as you approach and take their time coming back up. Stingrays play in the same sand, which is a large part of why the site is popular, and there is plenty of larger life around it with frequent shark sightings.

From the sand the ground runs out to the wall, where coral arches and swim-throughs sit at around 24 to 30 m. That is the deep part of the dive and it comes first: pass through the arches, then climb the face and use the shallow reef and the sand flat for a long return. Because the arches are the deepest ground on the site, the profile is front-loaded, and the last part of the dive is spent back over the eel colony.

Marine life and season

  • Stingrays
  • Reef sharks
  • Macro critters
Month-by-month season rating for Highway to Heaven
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodGoodGoodFairFairGoodGood

Season follows Turks & Caicos: January–April brings calm seas and the humpback whale migration through the Turks Island Passage; September–October is peak hurricane season.

Sources

  1. Dive Sites — Dive Provo — Dive Provo

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