
Buceo Aqualia
SSI Instructor Training Center and sole UTD technical school in La Herradura. Highest-rated center in the area: 4.9/5, Travelers' Choice 2025, #1 of 32.
Also known as: Los Candeleros, Pecio Los Candelabros
Shallow reef dive east of Cantarrijan with old fishing-boat frames at 13m and a seca that rises near the surface, inside the Maro-Cerro Gordo park.
Last updated May 2026
Drop on the descent line at the cliff face somewhere between five and seven metres, depending on where the boat moors. Keep the wall on your left and start tracking south-southwest along the boundary where rock meets white sand. Astroides calycularis colours the cliff in orange immediately. The first stretch is easy navigation, with scattered boulders forming rooms at depth where octopus and morays hold the rock-sand edge. At about thirteen metres the boat remains appear: wooden frames lying half-covered in sand, the upright stanchions catching torchlight if you bring one. Past the wreck the route opens into wider rooms between boulders before finishing at the seca, a rocky seamount that climbs sharply almost to the surface. Amberjack and dentex hold above it as a feature point and oblada school around the base. The anti-trawling artificial reef sits alongside. Turn around once a third of the air is gone and head back north along the wall at shallower depth, which doubles cleanly as the safety stop.
The boat-remains story is the hook. Local writeups and the local tourism page agree that the surviving pieces are technically candeleros, the prow-railing stanchions, and that popular usage shifted the name to candelabros because the uprights look like candelabras when you find them. No source consulted dates the wreck or names the vessel, so the dive narrative leans on the visible remains rather than a back-story. The other distinguishing feature is what the seca pulls in. Amberjack, dentex, and oblada turn the far end into the kind of pelagic punctuation you usually have to drop deeper for at neighbouring sites like Punta de la Mona. The orange coral coverage holds throughout the route and gives macro photographers more to work with than the depth alone suggests.
The site is a boat dive only — the cliff swim from Cantarrijan beach is over six hundred metres and the local tourism page warns that wind or tide changes can make the return potentially dangerous. Air management matters more than depth on a 300m round trip; turn back at one third of the cylinder, as TurGranada's standard practice goes. A torch is worth bringing for the crevices where morays, congers, and the lobster reported in the cave at the end of the route shelter. Octopus and stingray sightings in the SSI catalog peak August through October, which lines up with the warmest water and the most reliable visibility. The site sits inside the Maro-Cerro Gordo natural park, so dives go through an authorised centre with the permit included in the trip price.
What makes this dive site stand out.
Frames and prow stanchions at about 13m gave the site its folk-etymology name
A rocky seamount at the far end rises sharply, drawing amberjack and dentex
Astroides calycularis covers the cliff face throughout the route
An artificial reef beside the seca has been described as a mola mola cleaning station
Most operators agree the core route stays at 14-15m on a 300m round trip
36.7319°N, 3.7729°W
Summary
Three operators rate the core route low difficulty. One rates it moderate, likely reflecting a deeper variant.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
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SSI Instructor Training Center and sole UTD technical school in La Herradura. Highest-rated center in the area: 4.9/5, Travelers' Choice 2025, #1 of 32.

PADI 5 Star beachfront center in La Herradura with an in-house workshop, marine biology programs, and 16 sites from beginner coves to 40m walls.

Boutique SSI center in La Herradura built around deliberate slow-pace diving, marine education, and low-impact access to the Maro-Cerro Gordo protected coast.

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Paraje Natural Acantilados de Maro-Cerro Gordo
Permits are obtained through an authorised local centre and rolled into the trip price. Individual recreational divers cannot apply directly.
The name traces to the remains of an old fishing boat at around 13m. Only the frames (cuadernas) and prow railing stanchions survive. The stanchions are technically candeleros, but local usage shifted from 'Los Candeleros' to 'Los Candelabros' because the upright pieces resemble candelabras under the water.
Operators converge on 14-15m for the core route. The boat remains sit at about 13m and the seca tops out at 15m. One centre publishes a 22m deeper extension along the wall that would push the dive beyond OW limits.
Yes. Most operators rate the core 14-15m route as low difficulty with negligible current and OW certification is enough. The deeper 22m extension is a different profile and would call for AOW. The 300m round trip means air management matters more than depth.
A rocky seamount at the far end of the route that climbs sharply toward the surface from about 15m. Amberjack and dentex use it as a feature point and oblada and sea bass school around its base. The anti-trawling artificial reef sits alongside and has been described as a mola mola cleaning station in warmer months.
Astroides calycularis orange coral coats the cliff face. Multiple nudibranch genera are reported across the route. Octopus dominate the rock-sand interface, with peak abundance August through October. Triggerfish, amberjack, and dentex work the seca, with morays, congers, and groupers in the crevices.
TurGranada considers the shallow profile suitable in principle. In practice, night diving inside the Maro-Cerro Gordo reserve requires special authorisation and is heavily restricted. Most centres only run night dives at sites cleared for that purpose.
Yes. The site lies inside the Paraje Natural Acantilados de Maro-Cerro Gordo, established in 1989. Permits are obtained through an authorised dive centre and rolled into the trip price. Individual recreational divers cannot apply directly.
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