Parede de Rabo de Asno

The dive works a single feature: a rock face known for its red wall, covered in soft corals, with a cave set into it. The profile is deep and flat rather than staged, averaging 28 m against a maximum of 30 m, so you drop onto the wall, settle at working depth and move along it. Cold-water kit matters here — the water runs between 16 and 20°C, and there is no shallow section to warm up on until the ascent.

Current is the normal state of this site rather than an occasional complication, and it is the reason to dive it: the flow along the wall pulls pelagic fish in to feed. Schools of pouting can be dense enough to close off the horizon, and seabream are usually holding at the ends of the rock. Ocean sunfish turn up here too. Set your direction by the flow at the start of the dive and let it do the work along the face.

The cave is the other half of the dive: soft corals line it and schools of fish hold inside, so carry a light if you intend to go in. Time it for when you still have gas and no-stop margin in hand, because everything on this site sits near 30 m and there is no shallow section to fall back on before you start up. Access is by boat out of Peniche, as it is everywhere in the archipelago.