Cathedral
Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
The Cathedral is an underwater cave on the reef off Playa Chica in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote. It is one of the best-known dives on the island. You can enter from the beach or the pier, or by boat, and swim out over the reef to the cave entrance.
Inside, natural light filters through the openings and the walls are covered in colourful sponges, with a black coral near the entrance. Ornate wrasses and three-tailed damselfish swim upside down in the cavern. The cave descends to about 40 metres, and depths of 22 to 32 metres are quoted for the main dive. The water runs from 17 to 24°C.
Big dusky groupers have made the cave their home and approach divers. On the way there you cross a sandy eel garden, and there are nudibranchs, moray eels, butterfly rays, hogfish and trumpetfish. Looking into the blue can turn up rays or tuna, and very rarely a devil ray.
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The site is rated advanced, because of the depth and the enclosed space, and good buoyancy and experience are needed.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Moray eelMoray eelReported here · unconfirmed
Mobula (devil ray)Mobula (devil ray)Reported here · unconfirmed
European Common CuttlefishSepia officinalisReported here · unconfirmed
Common OctopusOctopus vulgarisReported here · unconfirmed
Regal Sea GoddessFelimare pictaReported here · unconfirmed
Madeira ScorpionfishScorpaena maderensisReported here · unconfirmed
AngelsharkSquatina squatinaReported here · unconfirmed
Wide-eyed FlounderBothus podasReported here · unconfirmed
European ParrotfishSparisoma cretenseReported here · unconfirmed
Arrow CrabStenorhynchus lanceolatusReported here · unconfirmed
DamselfishDamselfishReported here · unconfirmed
NudibranchNudibranchReported here · unconfirmed
TunaTunaReported here · unconfirmed
GrouperGrouperConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
WrasseWrasseReported here · unconfirmed
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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