Scuba diving in La Herradura (Almuñécar): a little corner with great diversity
We are used to seeing, in documentaries, the colorful backgrounds of the coasts of California or Queensland. However, you would never have imagined that a place like La Herradura would hide treasures at the level of the previous ones. It is time that we begin to value what we have, and that "only what is known is loved".
For this reason, the best way to know the great variety of marine fauna and flora that shelters our coasts is through the practice of diving . And, fortunately, diving in La Herradura is an activity that enjoys a very good health, because it is a unique place for this purpose in the Spanish geography.
La Herradura is a hamlet of Almuñécar (Granada), located on the Costa Tropical. It is a bay located between Punta de la Mona (in the east) and Peñón de Cerro Gordo (west). It has the privilege of having the Maro-Cerro Gordo Cliffs Natural Site, which penetrates a mile into the sea and is characterized by vertigo cliffs, beaches and small coves that can hardly be accessed.
In La Herradura there are many companies that work in the field of diving. These have professional divers trained as instructors in different categories, and that is why, if you are looking for someone to teach you to dive in this place, you will have no problem finding a well qualified instructor.
In addition, these companies offer different types of courses. The most offered modalities are: diving baptisms (very interesting for beginners), deep diving, dry suit, diving in height, orientation, night diving, buoyancy, first aid, oxygen manager, or even underwater photography courses. There are also some companies that offer recreational or technical diving courses.
The areas where dives are made for diving are also numerous. In the area of Cerro-Gordo, we find points such as the caves of Cantarriján, La Huerta, Territorio Congrío, Cueva del Sifón, Los Molinos or Calaiza. These last two, for example, are of low level, so they can be two ideal dives to get started in the world of diving.
On the other hand, if you prefer to dive in the area of Punta de la Mona, these are some of the dive sites: Piedra del Hombre, La Calita, Piedras Altas, Cueva del Jarro, Punta de La Mona (The corals) , Piedra de la Higuera (The Cars) or Marina del este. All these areas are of higher level, so if you already have experience in the sector, you also have your little hole in La Herradura.
And now, to give you the first brushstroke and to get bitten by the worm of diving, imagine that you opt for the Cantarriján beach. There, offshore, you will find an area where a large number of plant species coexist alongside a rich biodiversity of marine fauna. And of course, here the Posidonia also forms the beautiful meadows that adorn the funds. Among them, corals, sponges and a huge variety of fish find shelter, and the result is a spectacle of color for the eyes of the diver.
Reasons to practice diving in La Herradura (Almuñécar) there is something for all tastes. However, 6 of them could be the ones we present below.