La Polacra

La Polacra is a dramatic volcanic monolith rising from 40 metres to just below the surface off the eastern extremity of Cabo de Gata, where cold Atlantic upwelling currents that sweep around the cape collide with warmer coastal water and produce the nutrient-rich conditions that sustain large pelagic aggregations impossible to find at more sheltered sites in the park. Barracuda in schools of 200 or more form dense silver tornadoes above the pinnacle's summit in summer, while amberjack and dentex patrol the deeper current-scoured walls where yellow gorgonian colonies grow to exceptional size. This is Almería's premier drift dive and its most advanced site — the current running around the monolith can be formidable, but timed correctly it delivers divers along the wall in effortless exhilaration.