Jardines del Norte

Jardines del Norte — Gardens of the North — covers the pristine northern tip of Banco Chinchorro where spur-and-groove reef systems push off into a wall that drops to over 30 metres in crystal clear open Caribbean water. This is the atoll's most visually spectacular reef section, where massive star and brain coral heads rise from the spur tops like ancient monuments and the grooves between them are packed with schooling fish. The near-total absence of fishing pressure inside the biosphere reserve means coral cover here approaches what Caribbean reefs looked like centuries ago, with large predators and herbivores maintaining the ecological balance that keeps the reef healthy.