Reefwander
Grey limestone cliffs drop into green water, with a dark cave opening at the waterline and flat rock ledges below — Boca do Inferno, Cascais & Cabo Raso.

Cascais & Cabo Raso · Portugal · Reef

Boca do Inferno

Countless nudibranchs below the rocky recess that names the site

Photo: Nick Richards from London, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0

Boca do Inferno is a coastal reef below the huge rocky recess west of Cascais that gives the site its name. The dive runs along the coast over gorges and rock down to where the reef meets the sand. Countless nudibranchs make it a favourite of underwater photographers, and several schools of endemic fish live on the reef.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Boca do Inferno: typical dive 9–16 m (30–52 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit9 m16 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

38.6911° N, 9.4308° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive runs along the coast below the huge rocky recess, starting around 9 m where gorges cut the reef. It follows the rock down to 16 m, where the reef meets the sand. Countless nudibranchs live on the rock, along with several schools of endemic fish.

Marine life and season

  • Nudibranchs
  • Reef fish swarms
Month-by-month season rating for Boca do Inferno
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGood

Season follows Cascais & Cabo Raso: Boats run all year; the sea is coolest around March and warmest around September.

Dive videos

Boca do Inferno1 · DivingCascais on YouTube

Sources

  1. Boca do Inferno – ScubaGo dive site — ScubaGo
  2. OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap

Photo credits

More dive sites in Cascais & Cabo Raso

Small passages through the reef top on the swim back to the sand

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Large gorges that look like the Sintra hills on a clear day

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Sheltered bay where an undulate ray turns up on lucky days

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Small-spotted catsharks on a rock-and-sand bottom at 24 m

to 30 mintermediate

Try-dive reef where nudibranchs, octopus and cuttlefish share 8 m of water

to 8 mbeginner

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