Eden – often called Garden of Eden – lives up to its name. The official Cocos tourism listing describes gorgonian sea fan corals 'shooting up like forest trees', and the site gets its character from the density and size of these fans on the wall, with a range of 15–32 m. The main forest of fans lies between roughly 20 and 28 m, growing out from the wall into the current that feeds them.

Swimming through it is like moving through a stand of trees, with the fans arranged in layers down the slope. Large schools of big-eye trevally gather off the wall, and Underwater Australasia reports big-eye trevally courtship displays on Cocos – pairs darkening in colour and swimming in tight formation – that visiting divers have watched at several sites. Sharks, pelagics and turtles move through, and the reef top above the wall carries healthy hard coral.

The fans grow here because of the current, and the same current makes Eden a site for experienced divers. It sits on the northern rim of the atoll beyond the sheltered western sites, facing open ocean, and Cocos Dive generally visits only in summer when the wind drops. When conditions line up it is one of the best dives on the islands and a highlight of a doldrum-season trip; when they do not, it simply is not dived, so it should not be counted on during a short stay in the trade-wind months.

Diveplanit lists Eden as a signature site but notes its location is kept undisclosed, reflecting the protective attitude locally toward the best reefs. The dive suits divers with Advanced certification, good buoyancy and some drift-diving experience. Photographers should bring wide-angle and strobes; the fans with divers among them make the classic shot, but positioning in current takes practice.

Fly to West Island on the twice-weekly Virgin Australia service from Perth (usually routed via Christmas Island; allow 7–10 days on the islands to absorb weather and flight delays). Cocos Dive collects divers from West Island accommodation in the morning (pickup around 8 am, departure about 9 am) and runs its boats from West Island into the lagoon. Eden lies on the outer reef north of Horsburgh Island, beyond the sheltered north-western sites, so the boat must clear the northern rim of the atoll and sit in open ocean.

It is only visited when wind and swell are down, generally in the doldrum season. Drops are live-boat because of current; there is no shore access.

Cocos has two seasons. The south-east trades blow steadily from roughly April/May to October, often 15–25 knots, which chops up the lagoon and pushes swell onto the eastern and southern outer reefs; divers are then kept to sheltered sites. The doldrum season (November to March/April) brings lighter, variable winds, flatter seas and the widest choice of outer-reef sites, and is the best time to dive, though it is also the tropical cyclone season and squalls pass through.

Eden faces open ocean on the northern rim and is current-prone, so it is normally dived only in the summer months when winds are light and there is little swell running onto the north side. Strong currents develop with the tide; Cocos Dive picks the timing, and the dive may be run as a drift. Any north-westerly swell makes the site unworkable.

Live-boat drop onto the reef top around 15 m, descend to the gorgonian forest at 20–28 m and drift with the current along the wall, keeping close to the reef to stay out of the stronger flow. Watch the blue for trevally schools. Ascend along the wall before reaching deco limits and complete the safety stop under a surface marker buoy for pickup.

Cocos Dive (Dieter Gerhard, West Island, operating since 1990) is the only scuba operator on the islands and the only way to dive this site. It runs seasonal two-dive day trips with lunch and a surface interval on Direction Island, maximum 10 divers per trip; sites are chosen on the day according to wind, tide and diver experience. Trips book out well ahead and courses are currently suspended, so arrive certified.