Reqqa Reef

Reqqa Point is probably the most popular dive on Gozo’s north coast due to its spectacular underwater topography and abundance of marine life. It is a small pointed headland and lies directly beneath the village of Żebbug, west of the famous Xwejni salt pans. This dive site is susceptible to heavy seas from the prevailing North Westerly winds, but when it is possible to dive there, it has something for all levels of diving. A lovely reef buzzing with life, huge boulders, a submerged chimney or two, a vertical drop off and abundant marine life are some of the features that render this site one of Malta’s best dive sites.

Reqqa reef drops to a depth of 17 meters westward underwater from the left side of the Reqqa point. It is therefore shallow on the left-hand side but deeper to the east where the reef is carved with numerous fissures, inlets, and crevices and leads down to a sandy bottom at 25m. Here divers will savor the site’s biodiversity and the scenic steep Reqqa drop-off with larger and smaller species of fish hunting on and off the reef. More experienced divers could start the dive on the right-hand side and drive westward, descending gradually on the wall to 30 or 40 meters keeping the reef on the left-hand side and following towards the Reqqa reef. The reef drops rapidly to more than 60 meters. Divers dive anti-clockwise towards the reef and start their climb over an area characterized by boulders the size of a house. Back on the top of the reef at an average depth of 15 meters, there are often big shoals of Damselfish and Bogues in "skin-tight" swim formations, which shimmer in the sunlight like silver clouds. Divers then follow up to the shallow part of the reef to start their safety stop and dive on the wall round Reqqa point back to the entry /exit point.

Location: Gozo Island, Malta.