Scuba diving in Capraia - Lo scoglione

Type of scuba diving: wall
Minimum licence required: base
Depth: min 12 m, max 50 m

This is one of the most popular scuba diving areas in Capraia. Go along the eastern coast of the island, past Punta della Civitata, and you will get to the gulf known as the large rock, and this is the name of the scuba diving area.

If you moor just behind the Large Rock you will be truly sheltered regardless of the conditions of the sea so you will be able go into the water with no worries.

Your descent down will be along the walls of the rock until you reach the sandy seabed, and you will notice it lies on a lush field of oceanic Posidonia at a depth of - 12 metres. Keep to the right of the rock and you will see various rocky ridges that are separate from deep cracks and suggestive canyons with very manydamselfish all around.

The maximum depth you can reach at the bottom of the rock is approximately - 50 m, but the various layers on your way down enable you to stop at the various levels and this means your scuba diving in this area is perfect regardless of how inexperienced you might be.

The walls are rich in sponges, madrepores and bryozoans. The most inquisative scuba divers will notice many nudibranchs that feast on sponges and hydroids as they show off their very colourful fins and scales.

If you stop at the various ridges as you go down you will come across many large red snapper fish out on the hunt, while inside the cracks you will see many forkbeards, redfish, conger eels and moray eels.

If you swim up towards the surface it would be worth your while to complete your journey by swimming along the side facing south because here, between rocks and bunches of posidonia you will be able to spy numerous groupers. You will also see many barracudas that are out on the hunt of smaller fish in the area.

The blanket of seaweed is heavy because it consists of russet coloured seaweed from the Cistoseira species that help make the scenery of the seabed stand out more and is hence the perfect habitat for various animal and marine organisms.

The passage of the scuba diving route is taken from the leaflet "The hidden Archipelago. Scuba diving routes in the Tuscan National Archipelago”