Montaña Rusa
Divernet's Avalon trip report describes silky sharks greeting divers as they entered the water here, with Caribbean reef sharks, jacks, tarpon, cubera and dog snapper and several grouper species around a mini-wall that starts near 16 m, drops to about 27 m and slopes on to roughly 38-42 m. Silkies favour the spots where the reef skirts the edge of the continental shelf.
Facts
- Region: Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) – Cuba
- Area: Avalon operating area (southern shelf edge)
- Depth: 16–36 m
- Level: intermediate
- Current: low
- Type: wall, reef
- Coordinates: 20.78, -78.88 (approximate)
- Highlights: silky sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, jacks, tarpon, cubera snapper, goliath grouper
- Permit: Gardens of the Queen is a no-take national park (marine reserve since 1996, national park since 2010) with strictly limited visitor numbers: Avalon is the only operator licensed to take divers there (its site says up to 3,000 divers a year; another source says about 2,000), so there is no independent access by private boat or day trip - you must book a liveaboard/houseboat package with Avalon or a travel agent selling it. No separate park fee is published in the sources used; check what the package includes when booking.
- Issuer / contact: Avalon Diving Center / Cuban Diving Centers (Avalon Outdoor)
- Phone: +1 (707) 819 6660
- Email: diving@avalonoutdoor.com
- Website: https://cubandivingcenters.com/
- Phone/WhatsApp and e-mail as printed on the operator's own site (the park page of the same site prints info@cubandivingcenters.com). The sales office is in Argentina; no street address is published.
- Unverified: The exact mooring is not published; the marker is an estimate inside the park's Avalon operating area and is for orientation only. The report does not explicitly tie the 16-42 m profile to this site.
- Tips: Maximum dive depth on the Avalon programme is about 36 m, with 27-33 m preferred.