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Cozumel · National Marine Park
Palancar — Caves & Gardens
Cozumel's signature reef: a long run of dramatic coral buttresses split by swim-throughs and white sand channels. Two faces — the gentle Gardens and the deeper Caves — so there's a Palancar dive for almost everyone.
Fast facts
- Depth: Gardens ~12–18m · Caves ~18–25m
- Level: Gardens all levels · Caves intermediate
- Conditions: mild to moderate drift
- Highlights: coral buttresses, swim-throughs, sand channels, turtles, eagle rays
Diving Palancar
Massive coral buttresses carved with tunnels, archways and overhangs, separated by channels of white sand. A three-dimensional reef you weave through rather than swim over.
Palancar Gardens is the shallower face at roughly 12–18 m — rounded coral heads and sandy lanes, a relaxed drift for all certified levels.
Palancar Caves sits deeper, around 18–25 m, where the coral closes into tunnels you can swim through. Intermediate: good buoyancy keeps you off the coral in the tighter sections. Turtles graze the structure and eagle rays cruise the sand edge.
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