Fuerteventura · Spain · Reef · Cave & cavern
El Portal
A diveable breakthrough in an 18 m rock wall at 32 m
Area photo: H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0
El Portal is named for the diveable breakthrough in the middle of a rock wall that stands 18 metres tall off a 32 metre base, just in front of the Salinas reef proper. Past the portal the ground drops briskly into deeper water where large groupers hold, and the largest orange tree coral recorded in the Canary Islands grows at 42 metres.
Where it is and how deep
28.3662° N, 13.8669° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
In front of the actual reef a big rock wall stands off the bottom at 32 metres and rises 18 metres above it. The dive is built around that block: you come down onto it, work along the face, and find the gap through the middle. That gap is the portal the site is named for, a breakthrough in the rock wide enough to swim rather than squeeze.
Through the portal the ground falls away briskly into the deeper zones, and that is where the large groupers wait. Big Atlantic stingrays, amberjacks and barracuda work the water off the face. From 30 metres down the rock carries orange tree corals, and the largest recorded anywhere in the Canary Islands sits here at 42 metres.
Everything below the portal is deep-diving ground. The 32 metre base is already past Open Water limits and the corals at 42 are beyond a standard Advanced ceiling, so the dive is planned on the boat: which side of the wall, how long at the bottom, and a turn made on gas and no-decompression time rather than on how much rock is left.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Barracuda
- Stingrays
- Trevally & jacks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Fuerteventura: Divable in every month; water runs 18–23°C, coolest in late winter and warmest from August into October, and the desert climate keeps conditions mild.
Know before you go
- The wall base sits at 32 m and the deepest features at 42 m, so no-decompression time rather than the terrain decides when the dive ends.
Questions divers ask
How deep is El Portal?+
The rock wall stands on a 32 metre base and rises 18 metres above it. Below the portal the ground drops further, with orange tree corals from 30 metres and the deepest feature at 42.
What certification do you need for El Portal?+
Advanced with deep experience. The shallowest part of the main feature is the top of the wall, and the base and the corals below it sit well past recreational Open Water limits.
Sources
- El Portal dive site — Scubago
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