Floating on air

The freshwater lakes and rivers of central Europe offer a diving experience unlike any other. Swiss photojournalist Franco Banfi takes us on a guided tour of his favourites ...

Photo: Franco Banfi Photo: Franco Banfi Photo: Franco Banfi Photo: Franco Banfi Photo: Franco Banfi

So you’ve done wreck diving, reef diving, cold diving, tropical diving, and you think you’ve seen it all. Think again – for a truly alien diving experience, consider the freshwater rivers and lakes of central Europe. Imagine diving in a mountain lake with water so clear that you can see the snow-capped majesty of the mountains even when you’re swimming at a depth of 10m. It’s a unique way to see the world, and one I recommend to anyone with a penchant for the unusual.

All of these sites can be dived year-round, though they are at their best from June to September. You will need a 7mm wetsuit or semi-dry in the summer months or a drysuit in the winter. Avoid diving after heavy rainfall, which reduces visibility and increases the strength of the currents.

Bignasco, Val Maggia, Switzerland
The Maggia is a fast-flowing river that starts high in the Alps on the Swiss-Italian border. The village of Bignasco at 450m is the ideal point to dive with a good shingle beach and a water depth of between 10 and 15m. The drive up from Locarno is stunning with a beautiful waterfall near the village of Maggia.

Before the dive, it is important to check the condition of the river – in full flow the visibility can drop dramatically. The river is relatively easy to dive, but you do have to watch out for possible obstacles such as fallen branches. The entry and exit points for divers are well marked, and it’s quite hard to go the wrong way. The Maggia is full of fish, mostly mountain and salmon trout. Close to the banks, look for small river gobies hiding in the vegetation – like mudskippers, these fish are even able to leave the water for brief periods.

This is a dive which changes with the seasons: in winter the water is obviously very cold and the blocks of rock are devoid of algae. In summer the algae returns, but the fish become very wary of divers. A word of warning: this river can become a torrent during rains, so be careful in bad weather!

Need to know...
Air fills: No Limits Blue Dive Centre,
tel: 00 41 79620 6277,
email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Accommodation: Hotel Ca Stella,
tel: 00 41 91754 3434, email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . around 34 euros per person per night.
Warning: be aware of the fast currents in spring.
Further information: tourist office, Locarno,
tel: 00 41 91751 0333; website: http://www.maggiore.ch or http://www.vallemaggia.ch.

Lavertezzo, Val Verzasca, Switzerland
The Verzasca valley is another short drive from Locarno on the Swiss-Italian border. The steep-sided river offers some unique diving in exceptionally clear water. The village of Lavertezzo has a small, sand beach and it is possible to explore a 200m-long stretch of river with a maximum depth of about 10m.

Here, the green-blue water is incredibly clear and the wonderful thing is that you can peer up at the steep-sided mountains while you dive – a dive with a view. Tourists come to see the impressive old bridge which spans the river with a pair of stone arches – as with the mountains, it also offers an extraordinary underwater view.

There’s also plenty to see in the river. Depending on the time of year, you can see frogs or trout, but you’ll always be able to find the blocks of granite which once provided a local industry for the Verzascans. The large boulders are veined with markings that seem to follow the flow of the water: sometimes linear, sometimes concentric. Underwater sculpture!

Need to know:
Accommodation and air fills: Ristorante Hotel Pizzo Vogorno, tel: 00 41 91745 1256,
email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ,
website: http://www.pizzovogorno.ch, Prices from 50 Euros per person per night, air fills also available.
Warning: watch out for fast currents in spring.
Further information: tourist office Locarno,
tel: 00 41 91751 0333, website: http://www.maggiore.ch.
Gruppo Sub Verzasca: tel: 00 41 91746 1723 (only in summer), website: http://www.verzasca.com/river.

Lake Cornino, Udine, Italy
There are many lakes in Northern Italy, but few are regularly dived. Glaciers slowly gouged out the trenches which filled with water when the glaciers retreated at the end of the last Ice Age. Most were filled by river vegetation and mineral deposits and disappered. Even the ones that survive to this day may be slowly disappearing.

Lake Cornino has a surface area of about 8,500 square metres and a maximum depth of just 8m, with the levels fluctuating by half a metre over the course of the year. In about a decade, the maximum depth will drop by about 1m. In 1919 it was 9.6m deep.

The average water temperature is about 8ºC and is constant throughout the year. The lake is fed by a system of underwater springs and channels, the exact origins of which no one knows. Visibility is changeable, but you can usually see the bottom of the lake from the surface, especially close to the shores. Dive to the bottom and you will find big blocks of limestone and perhaps some algal growth. The majority of vegetation is confined to the shores and is most prolific in spring and summer. You don’t find many fish here, apart from a few breeding species placed in the lake by anglers. The most common species are salmon and trout, and keen-eyed divers may also find the occasional freshwater shrimp.

Need to know
Accommodation: Hotel Glicini,
fax: 00 39 0432 7808026. From 42 euros per person per night.
Air fills: there is no local dive centre, but you can ask the Club Subacqueo Udinese,
tel: 00 39 0432 506050.
Warning: as the lake is in a nature reserve, you have to ask for permission to dive from the municipal office, fax: 00 39 0427 808137 and mark your fax for the attention of Guglielmo Biasutti.
Further information: see the website http://www.parks.it/riserva.lago.cornino.

Fernsteinsee and Samaranger Lakes, Tirol, Austria
Visitors flock in their millions to the Tirol each year, in search of the serenity of the Alps and classic Austrian scenery – breathtaking views of snow-capped Alpine peaks and quaint little wooden chalets nestling in the foothills. But skiing is not the only activity that Tirol has to offer, this is the land of numerous mountain lakes, boasting clear water and brimming with fish.

About 4km from the village of Nassereith, there are two lakes – Fernsteinsee and Samaranger See and a fabulous hotel. These lakes are in a protected area, controlled from the Hotel Schloss Fernsteinsee. Only guests who stay in the hotel for a minimum of two nights are allowed to dive for free.

The Fernsteinsee is located just in front of the hotel, the Samaranger See is smaller and located a little further away. Plunge your head into the water and you will literally see the entire lake, as if you were in an outdoor swimming pool. Underwater, you get a unique perspective of the pine trees which line the shores. Of course, the underwater features are not as many as you would expect to find in a sea dive, but the clean emptiness of the lake is offset by the presence of several sunken trees, which take on a deathly beauty, preserved in the crisp waters.

Mountain trout can be seen in abundance in both lakes – for a fish that is quite tricky to catch, these ones are well familiar with divers and will approach quite closely. These lakes get very busy at the weekend, almost as congested as Stoney Cove. So I strongly recommend you visit during the week.

Need to know
Accommodation: Hotel Schloss Fernsteinsee,
tel: 00 43 5265 5210,
email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ,
website: http://www.schloss-fernsteinsee.at.
From 52 Euros per person per night, air fills are also available.
Further information: see the websites http://www.austriatourismus.net and http://www.tirol.com.