Las Negras, Andalusia, Spain

Las Negras

Las Negras is the small fishing village on the eastern flank of the Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park and one of the most accessible shore dives of the Andalusian reserve. Entry is from the south end of the village beach, where rocky shoulders descend gently to 25 metres on a sand and Posidonia bottom. The shallow boulders host dense schools of damselfish, saddled seabream and ornate wrasse, while the deeper rocks shelter dusky groupers, brown meagre, octopus, painted comber and conger eels. The Posidonia meadows on the descent are a UNESCO-listed habitat and host pipefish, juvenile fish in summer and the slowly recovering Pinna nobilis fan mussel after the recent parasite outbreak. Currents are normally weak, visibility is consistent around 15 to 20 metres and the site is sheltered enough to be diveable in nearly any sea condition, making it a benchmark training and orientation dive. The Andalusian Mediterranean coast covers the Alboran Sea, the boundary between Atlantic and Mediterranean waters, and benefits from the inflow of cooler Atlantic surface water that supports a mixed fauna unique in the basin. Water temperature ranges from 14 C in February to 25 C in August. Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park and the Maro-Cerro Gordo natural area are the two principal MPAs, and dive operators run from Almeria, La Herradura and Roquetas de Mar.