The Canyon

The signature dive of Watamu Marine National Park, East Africa's first marine reserve, gazetted in 1968. A coral draped arch shelters an overhang packed with shimmering golden glassfish, and just south the reef splits into the canyon itself: a sandy channel roughly 25 m wide flanked by steep drop offs that fall to 26-28 m. Divers usually start along a shallow drift line at 11-13 m, then drop into the trench where resident groupers, barracuda schools, and large stingrays patrol the sand. The shaded cuts and overhangs hold leaf fish and a long resident ribbon eel. From November to March whale sharks cruise the outer edge as the northeast monsoon brings the year's warmest, clearest water.