Palancar Reef

Is Palancar Reef part of the Mesoamerican Reef?

Cozumel sits on the edge of the Mesoamerican Reef, the second-largest reef system in the world, which runs for 1,100 kilometers from Isla Contoy, north of the Yucatán, to the Bay Islands of Honduras. Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, created on July 19, 1996, protects 120 square kilometers of reef south of the international pier, down to Punta Sur and a stretch of the east coast, and reaches down to the 100-meter depth contour. It holds more than a thousand marine species, shallow and mesophotic reefs, loggerhead and hawksbill turtles, and the splendid toadfish, found nowhere else. It has been a Ramsar wetland since 2005. In 2019, the park closed several reefs, Palancar included, from October 7 to December 15, to assess the state of the coral and give it a break: pressure from cruise ships and divers is the island's constant issue.

Gardens, Caves, Horseshoe or Bricks: which Palancar site should you dive?

A typical Palancar dive starts with a descent to the sand, at around 15 to 20 meters. The guide then leads the group into the canyons that cut across the reef, between coral pinnacles rising to within 10 meters of the surface, with short tunnels and arches that you swim through one after the other. At Gardens, the canyons are wide, the white sand reflects the light and turtles graze on the sponges: it is the first dive for Open Water divers in Cozumel. At Caves, the tunnels are longer and darker; you enter at around 25 meters and come out on the plateau, and a light is recommended. At Horseshoe, a bowl of pinnacles opens onto the blue, and that is where you watch the eagle rays go by. Bricks, in the south, strings together caverns, overhangs and deep sea fans to the edge of the park.

How do you drift dive in Cozumel?

The Cozumel current comes from the south and runs up the west coast; its strength changes from one day to the next and sometimes between two dives. Boats do not drop anchor: the group descends together, drifts with the guide and surfaces under a surface marker buoy that the captain follows from above. So you have to stay together, keep the guide in sight, keep your SMB within reach and not fight the current when it speeds up at the points. In the canyons and tunnels, buoyancy is what counts: an overweighted diver breaks coral there, and the park bans gloves so that no one grabs the reef. Dive centers refuse deep dives to divers without Advanced, and it is a good rule.