El Faro

The dive starts on the shallow platform by the beacon, where the reef top sits about 2m below the surface and the opening minutes are bright. The route heads north-east along the reef side, descending gently over boulders and cracks. Moray eels and groupers show up within the first minutes, the groupers following divers from their holes. Look up and large schools of small fish that were easy to miss at first hang above the reef.

At around 26m, the depth the route itself reaches, the reef gives way to sand; operators quote the deepest point anywhere from 24m to 28m. A large school of barracuda often hovers here, and a canyon on the right is the turnaround. The way back climbs through the canyon and over the reef top, where octopus sit and a sea hare turns up now and then, then passes the beacon itself. With air left, divers can carry on over the gentler section of reef beyond it, where rays have occasionally been seen, and finish with a stop at 5m. Total time is about 50 minutes.

The name comes from the structure on the reef crown, a lighthouse to some operators and a baliza, a navigation beacon, to others. Because the top of the reef is so shallow the light stays good, and photography is where that pays off most in the first part of the dive.

The Seca de Santa Eulalia is described as holding three dive points, and the beacon dive is the famous one; La Chimenea is a separate point on the same reef. The reef is pitched at divers just starting out and at those who prefer calmer sites.

Cala Pada Diving sets Open Water Diver as the minimum for the whole dive, canyon turnaround included. The PADI Scuba Diver level is cited only for the shallow platform, where the beacon runs from about 2m to 12m, so confirm with the centre which version is running.

In summer the thermocline sits below about 20m, so the canyon leg is noticeably cooler than the platform.