Tignale, Lombardy, Italy

Tignale

Tignale, on the high western shore of Lake Garda, is one of the lake's most popular freshwater dive sites for divers seeking deeper profiles. The shore-entry site is a steep rocky drop-off that descends from the surface to well past 40 metres, with terraces of submerged boulders, fissures and freshwater vegetation patches. The lake is famous for its glacial origins and clear, cold water; visibility commonly ranges from 8 to 15 metres in late spring and autumn, with thermoclines marking the temperature change below 20 metres. Resident fauna includes pike (Esox lucius), perch (Perca fluviatilis), lake trout (Salmo trutta lacustris), carp, bullhead, small shoals of bleak and the endemic carpione (Salmo carpio) in the deeper layers. Submerged tree trunks and rocks attract perch shoals. The dive is usually run as a shore entry from a small parking area and is suitable for intermediate divers with cold-water and altitude/freshwater experience.