Gran Canaria - diving in
The El Cabrón
Marine Reserve.

Great credit goes to the local Spanish authorities in the Agüimes district of Gran Canaria for protecting the area just north of Arinaga around the Playa del Cabrón as a marine reserve! With species which originate from the Mediterranean, from the Atlantic, from Africa and from the Caribbean, it is believed that in excess of four hundred varieties of marine flora and fauna can be seen in the reserve - although it may take you several dives to explore and find them all!

The Cabrón area is overlooked by the Montana de Arinaga - a defunct volcano and itself a National Monument. The landscape in the north was heavily worked for the extraction of lime in the 1950's and has never been regenerated, giving it the feel of a lunar landscape. In the south, the town of Arinaga now stretches almost as far as Punta de Arinaga.
Underwater the clarity of the water combined with warm gulf stream temperatures and abundant and varied fish life make this the 'must dive' location for holiday visitors and local divers alike in the Canaries. We organise explorations of the reserve every day, and also through night dives and deep dives can show many of the secrets and highlights of this spectacular divers paradise.

The El Cabrón Marine Reserve was listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest by the European Union in December 2001 and is one of only three Marine Reserves in the Canary Islands. You can find out more about angelsharks in the reserve by reading the results of the 2007 survey

The map below shows the location of the Marine Reserve just outside Arinaga on the east coast of Gran Canaria. Click on any of the tabs to find out more information about the reserve.