Fascinating bunch of Red Gorgonians, characteristic of deep diving in Sicily, waiting to show their beauty to scuba diving enthusiasts in Ustica, this is Punta dell'Arpa!
Less than 10 minutes from the harbour, immediately after Grotta Verde, is the bay of Punta dell'Arpa, the southernmost tip of the island of Ustica. On arrival, a beautiful rocky landslide covered with prickly pears cactus gives a glimpse of what lies beneath the water, a landscape dominated by large boulders that give the opportunity for highly articulated dives full of life and interesting sights!
Mooring in the bay to the east of the point and following a vast meadow of posidonia, you quickly reach the end dominated by a wall formed by several rocks extending between 12 and 35 metres in depth. These rocks create several passages and holes that are very interesting to explore, hosting arches full of orange madrepores (Astroides calycularis) and rich in nudibranchs, as well as several specimens of brown and red groupers. Moving away from the wall are four more huge rock formations, entirely covered with red and yellow gorgonia. Hidden among the gorgonian branches, you can see forkbeards, lobsters and many nudibranches! Looking away from the rocks, it is not uncommon to see huge amberjacks swimming in the blue and large brown groupers resting on top of the boulders! Back inside the bay, one cannot fail to be fascinated by the landscape created by the rocks at a depth of less than 10 metres. Several passages and a curious little cave are waiting to reveal their secrets, such as the rare and sinuous black moray eels! Furthermore, during the second half of the season, Punta dell'Arpa offers shelter to young barracudas, amberjacks and jacks!
Finally, thanks to its seabed of no more than 40 metres, its sheltered bay and its fairly exposed tip, Punta dell'Arpa is one of Ustica's ideal diving spots for PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course and Deep Diver speciality courses!
For all divers looking for a unique, varied landscape full of surprises, Punta dell'Arpa is the ideal dive!