Lima Rock in Musandam

More about Lima Rock

North of Dibba, Lima Rock lies amid a plethora of coral and marine life, marking the southern entrance to Lima Bay. This small island is a pinnacle of limestone rock, about 800m by 200m wide with steep, jagged sides. The waves have undercut the rock in places, leaving shallow caves and deep fissures. Sheer cliffs drop almost vertically to a depth of about 12m, then boulders and scree run steeply down to a sandy bottom at more than 60m.

The beauty of Lima Rock is that it can be dived in most weather and tidal conditions. If the sea is rough, or the current is running on one side, then the other side usually calm. Though beware of the currents at the eastern and western tips of the island. Snorkelers will enjoy the site too and the north side of the island offers more shelter if you keep close to the rock face. On the southern side of the island, there are a couple of relatively deep caves, one which used to home a 2.5m nurse shark but is only seen occasionally now. At the southeastern end of the island, a massive boulder guards the easternmost tip of the island. If the currents are mild, wait on this monolith and look out into the deep water for tuna, jacks, sharks and manta rays. If you’re lucky you may even be rewarded with the sight of a whale shark or sunfish.

Between 12 and 20m, the boulder field is covered with hard corals (table, staghorn, brain and boulder coral) and patches of soft corals (orange and pink teddy bear coral). The marine life is abundant with large shoals of reef fish. At 20m and deeper, abundant yellow and green colored black coral and numerous clumps of purple coral appear between the patches of sand, creating a very beautiful site. Look out for the yellow mouth morays with their vivid, colorful markings. Moving deeper towards the shelving sand, white tips sharks and leopard sharks are often seen resting on the bottom.

On the north side, steep walls drop down to the sand at 20m. This side of the island is in shade from mid-morning onward. The island is also home to a variety of birds such as ospreys, swifts, and sooty falcons that frequent the high ramparts of the rock, making it an interesting location to wait between dives.