Punta Galera

A gently sloping reef wall bustling with marine life representing the rich biodiversity of the Mediterranean.

This dive site is located on the southwestern coast of the island of Ustica. “Punta Galera” refers to the tongue of land that forms a rocky ridge diving the bay into two adjacent coves. This location offers different underwater diving itineraries at different depths to satisfy divers of all levels.

The dive starts with a descent in the shallow waters of the cove. Following the contours of the rocky ridge towards the open sea‚ we arrive at a submerged buoy; this is where the sloping reef commences. Bustling with marine life‚ we can already encounter shoals of saddled seabream‚ two-banded seabream and enormous species of zebra bream‚ illuminated by the sun and sparkling in the clear waters. Following the reef facing east‚ we encounter big boulders of rocks‚ where purple nudibranchs can often be found and around which big species of groupers find their homes. The itinerary isn’t particularly long‚ but time flies exploring the reef for sea stars‚ pencil sea urchins‚ octopuses‚ moray eels‚ lobsters and nudibranchs‚ while from out the blue it is not uncommon to be approached by blue runners‚ big amberjack species or shoals of barracuda.

Heading back to dive boat‚ we take some time to explore the cove’s environment. A big fissure in the reef and a canyon decorate the environment with their forms. The seabed inside the cove hides wonderful creatures; octopus and cuttlefish hide between the pebbles‚ while the Posidonia grass fields conceals pipefish and the noble pen shell living in symbioses with the small amethyst shrimp that hides inside it.