Azores · Portugal · Cave & cavern
Gruta do Galo
A cave with two entrances guarded by unusually large trevally
Gruta do Galo is a cavern dive off Flores that begins inside a cave open to the surface and continues to a second, spacious cave with two entrances. The current is usually weak and the first cave, at 12 to 15 m, is within reach of Open Water divers; it is one of the island's most popular rock-formation dives.
Also known as Galo Cave.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Azores and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The dive begins inside a cave open to the surface, at around 12 to 15 m. Near the entrance a freshwater waterfall cascades into the sea, so the dive can begin and end beneath it. On leaving the cave the seabed descends to 25 m, where a second, spacious cave with two entrances opens up. A small school of unusually large white trevally usually stays inside it, while wary dusky groupers and several species of moray eel peer from the surrounding crevices.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Groupers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Azores: June to September is the best time to dive; the clearest water lasts into October, spring water turns green, and in winter the Corvo ferry sails only when the weather allows.
Sources
- Gruta do Galo — byAçores
- Flores diving — Visit Azores
More dive sites in Azores
Pelagic & blue water
Almaco jacks and barracuda hunting clouds of blue jack mackerel
Pinnacle
A drowned volcanic cone rising to within 6 m of the surface
More than a dozen dusky groupers around divers at once
Wall
A reef wall that splits the islet into a sheltered side and an exposed one
Pinnacle
A Corvo reef rising from deep water almost to the surface
Wall
Lava-tube caves hiding conger eels and moray eels
Similar dives elsewhere
A small cave off the islet, from 15 m down to 25 m
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Cueva de Radazul
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A narrow gorge from 23 m to a portal in the reef at 32 m
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Gruta dos Camarões
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Hundreds of shrimp packed into a narrow cavern