Gruta dos Corais
Description
Boat
2 min from the Velas Harbour
Depth
Gruta dos Corais
Easy dive, with the top of the reef lying between 5 and 10 metres and less than 100 metres from the shore in front of the town of Velas, this is a great place for diving baptisms, night dives and snorkelling.
Despite the proximity to the coast, this dive offers a unique setting, especially when you include a visit to the Cave dos Corais (Coral Cave), something which is reserved for more experienced divers. Located at a 24-metre depth, this place showcases an amazing abundance of large stretches of black coral (Antipathella wollastoni), both decorating the wide entrance to the cave and its interior and surrounding areas. Inside, you can also see areas filled with narwal shrimp (Plesionika narval), which often serve as prey to forkbeards (Phycis phycis), as well as colourful cardinal fishes (Apogon imberbis).
Climbing to the top of the reef, you can find a very abundant marine life showcasing common species from the Azores sea floor, such as several species of moray eels, including the less common fangtooth moray (Enchelycore anatina), ornate wrasses (Thalassoma pavo), Azores chromis (Chromis limbata), Canary damsels (Abudefduf luridus), parrotfishes (Sparisoma cretense), and small schools of salema porgies (Sarpa salpa).