Boca das Caldeirinhas

This is a spot that adapts to almost everyone, because everything depends on the route you choose to take. Depths range from 7 to 50 metres, so it suits both those who want to snorkel or do shallow diving, as well as those looking for more demanding technical diving. Access is by boat, about 10 minutes from Porto da Horta, and the current is usually weak.

Considered one of the best mergulhos sites in the Faial, Boca das Caldeirinhas takes its name from the location where it occurs: the opening of the crater of the Monte da Guia volcano, which connects to the sea at the southern tip. Since the interior of the crater is a protected area with restricted access, there is abundant marine life in the zone bordering the open sea, and that is precisely where you dive.

At that border, around 10 metres down, there is a wide, long platform with a remarkable abundance of fauna. You encounter moray eels of various species, wrasses (Thalassoma pavo) and parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense), among many others.

The platform ends in a vertical wall that descends to about 30 metres. Here, besides the species already mentioned, lives a large grouper (Epinephelus marginatus), the red-mouthed goby (Bodianus scrofa) appears from time to time, and you can find a small cave with a beautiful black coral formation (Antipathella wollastoni). From there, the wall continues to drop to 50 metres.