El Cantil
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
El Cantil, known as The Cliff, is a coral reef site in the Pulmo area, shallow and close to shore. Depths run from about 5 to 17 metres (15-55 ft), which makes it suited to long, leisurely dives, and it suits divers of all levels.
Schools of big eye trevallies swirl around the reef, and groupers, Panamic green morays, snappers, turtles, stingrays, garden eels, zebra eels, fine-spotted eels, jewel eels and electric rays are common. Guitar fish and humpback whales are seasonal, and whales can sometimes be heard singing underwater during the migration season from December to April. Bull sharks are possible. Currents are variable and downcurrents occur, and the northern exposure means few boats visit.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
Bull sharkBull sharkConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Moray eelMoray eelReported here · unconfirmed
StingrayStingrayReported here · unconfirmed
Razor SurgeonfishPrionurus laticlaviusReported here · unconfirmed
Guineafowl PufferArothron meleagrisReported here · unconfirmed
Blue-barred ParrotfishScarus ghobbanReported here · unconfirmed
Graybar GruntHaemulon sexfasciatumReported here · unconfirmed
Bigeye TrevallyCaranx sexfasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
Cortez Rainbow WrasseThalassoma lucasanumReported here · unconfirmed
Yellow SnapperLutjanus argentiventrisReported here · unconfirmed
Yellowfin SurgeonfishAcanthurus xanthopterusReported here · unconfirmed
Eagle rayEagle rayReported here · unconfirmed
DamselfishDamselfishReported here · unconfirmed
Bull SharkCarcharhinus leucasConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
TrevallyTrevallyReported here · unconfirmed
GrouperGrouperConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
SeahorseSeahorseReported here · unconfirmed
Nurse sharkNurse sharkConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
SnapperSnapperConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Garden eelGarden eelReported here · unconfirmed
WhaleWhaleReported here · unconfirmed
BarracudaBarracudaReported 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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