Guánica & La Parguera · Lajas
Hole in the Wall
Also known as: Hole in Wall Reef
- Depth
- 60–110 ft (18–34 m)
- Access
- Boat dive
- Type
- Wall · Drop-off / slope
- Confidence
- Verified
Overview
Hole in the Wall is a boat-dive wall off La Parguera in Lajas, on a steep slope facing south-southwest. Researchers describe steep buttresses separated by narrow sand chutes with well-developed algae, coral and sponge growth, and have studied its deeper reaches at about 165 and 230 feet. A 1998 guide gave depths of 60 to 110 feet. It lies within the La Parguera Natural Reserve; check current DRNA rules.[1][2][3][4]
Site characteristics
Habitat & marine life
- steep buttresses separated by narrow sand chutes, well-developed algae/coral/sponge assemblage[2]
Marine life is what sources report having seen or commonly seeing — not a guarantee.
Safety considerations
No site-specific hazards are recorded in our sources. That does not mean there are none.
Ocean conditions change daily. Dive within your training, plan with current local information and consider a local professional guide. Full safety note.
Protected area
La Parguera Natural Reserve (Reserva Natural La Parguera)
Natural Reserve · Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources · Site position falls inside the official boundary[4]
NOAA's MPA Inventory classifies this area's protection level as "Uniform Multiple Use"; fishing: no site restrictions. Anchoring: restricted.[4]
Regulations change. Check with DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) before diving.
Depth reports by source
| Reported | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 60–110 ft (18–34 m) | Colleen Ryan & Brian Savage / Complete Dive Guide Publications[3] | Historical (1998) |
Historical record
What a historical source reported at the time. Not verified as current — access, moorings, reef condition and names may have changed.
Listed as “Hole in the Wall” · 60–110 ft (18–34 m) · 1998[3]
- boat
- wall — vertical
- sharp crevice cut through wall to ~80 ft (name source)
- gorgonian 'prairie' on top; stony corals and Venus sea fans on wall; wire coral at crevice exit
Sources & verification
Last researched: 2026-10-04 · Last independently verified: not yet field-verified · Confidence: Verified
- 1.Dive Sites | Parguera Boat Trips — Parguera Boat Trips (Lajas) · Dive operator · Tier 2: Specialist · accessed 2026-09-25
- 2.Intra-Annual Variation in Mesophotic Benthic Assemblages on the Insular Slope of Southwest Puerto Rico as a Function of Depth and Geomorphology (Front. Mar. Sci. 8:732926) — Appeldoorn RS et al. / University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez (2021-12-14) · Scientific publication · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
- 3.The Complete Diving Guide: The Caribbean, Volume 3 (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands) — Colleen Ryan & Brian Savage / Complete Dive Guide Publications (1998) · Historical guide · Tier 3: Corroborating · historical
- 4.NOAA Marine Protected Areas Inventory 2024 (feature service NOAA_MPA_Inventory_2023), State = PR — NOAA NOS Office of National Marine Sanctuaries - MPA Center (2024) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
- 5.Noreste Mooring Buoys3_WFL1 (layer pr_mooringbuoys2) - Boyas de Amarre — Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA); published on ArcGIS Online by a DRNA Northeast Ecological Corridor reserve management officer (2021-06-10) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
Facts are summarised in our own words from the sources above; we do not reproduce operators’ or publishers’ descriptions. How confidence is assigned.