Fang Ming Wreck
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily, so treat everything here as planning ranges.
The Fang Ming came to La Paz in disgrace - a Chinese-flagged vessel seized by Mexican authorities in the 1990s for smuggling migrants - and was scuttled in 1999 as an artificial reef, an early project of its kind in these waters. Sitting upright on sand at around 21 m with her rails and holds in easy reach, she has grown a fur of cup corals and sponges and collected a devoted population: green turtles genuinely do nap inside the open holds and companionways, angelfish patrol the rails, and schools of grunt hang over the deck. Openings cut for divers make supervised swim-throughs straightforward for the trained. It is La Paz's easy, charming wreck dive.
The moment you come for: Turtles asleep inside the holds, cup-coral bloom on the rails, gentle first-wreck profile
Topography: Steel hull upright on sand near Espiritu Santo
Know before you splash
Hazards: Silt inside the hull, sharp encrusted edges, mild current over the deck.
Conservation: Lies within the La Paz-area protected waters; take nothing and touch nothing - the growth is the point.
Nitrox: Worth it here: profiles sit in the range where enriched air meaningfully extends no-stop time (with the training to use it).
Who you'll meet
Nudibranchs
Green Sea Turtle
Porcupinefish
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish
California Sea Lion
Christmas Tree Worm
Humpback Whale
Bottlenose Dolphin
"Charted here" species were listed by our editors from the sources on this page. Counts are GBIF occurrence records: observations logged within about 5 km of the charted position since 1990, matched only against the species in our catalogue. They show what has been seen there, not a promise of what you will see.
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★☆ · Macro: ★★★☆☆ (editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting)