Shark Ray Alley

Zone D of Hol Chan Marine Reserve, about a mile south of the reserve's main cut off Ambergris Caye. Decades of fish cleaning by local fishermen drew Atlantic nurse sharks and southern stingrays into the shallow sand patch, and now twenty or more sharks routinely circle in waist deep water as boats arrive. Depths run only 5 to 12 feet over a white sand bottom, so divers and snorkelers share the column with the animals. The draw is close encounters and natural light photography rather than reef structure, and most operators pair it with a Hol Chan reef dive on the same trip.