Madeira · Portugal · Cave & cavern · Reef
Pedra D'Eira
A tunnel in at 8 metres, out at 18
Area photo: Alberto-g-rovi · CC BY 3.0
A volcanic formation at the east end of Madeira built around a tunnel that starts at 8 metres and comes out at 18, with ground beyond it running on to 38. No current is reported here, which is what makes the tunnel workable for divers without overhead training. Black coral, anemones and seahorses are on the rock; stingrays and turtles pass it.
Where it is and how deep
32.7348° N, 16.7406° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The tunnel is the dive. You enter it at 8 metres and follow it through to an exit at 18 — a swim-through cut in volcanic rock rather than a cave system — and because no current runs here the passage can be taken at a pace instead of timed around water movement. That is what makes the site work for divers who have not trained for overhead environments.
Past the exit the ground keeps going down, to 38 metres. That is the part that decides who the site suits: a group can turn at the tunnel mouth and stay well inside recreational depths, or drop to the deeper rock and accept a short bottom time. Either way the rock carries black coral and anemones, with seahorses in the small stuff and large schools of groupers and other subtropical fish over it; stingrays and turtles are the bigger animals reported here.
Marine life and season
- Stingrays
- Sea turtles
- Macro critters
- Groupers
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Madeira: Jun–Sep brings the warmest water and best odds of manta rays around the Desertas; diving continues year-round but cooler and rougher in winter.
Questions divers ask
Is there current at Pedra D'Eira?+
No current is reported at this site, which is one reason the tunnel — 8 metres at the entrance, 18 at the exit — is dived by divers without overhead-environment training.
Sources
- Pedra D'Eira - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Madeira
Reef
Amphitheatre reef in the underwater park, 10–24 m
Reef
Volcanic caves and coral blocks inside 18 metres
Reef
An entrance at 8 metres, an exit at 18
Pinnacle
A 3-metre peak that drops to 35 on sand
Reef
Three minutes from Santa Cruz to 25-metre rock
Steps at the Lido to a 5-to-18-metre fall
Pinnacle
Twin volcanic pinnacles from 30 m up to 12 m
Wall
A wall that reaches the surface, sloping to 25 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Lava arches at 14 to 18 m on the edge of the marine reserve
A rock gate onto an 18 m plateau with two standing towers
One of the largest ocean caverns in the Southern Hemisphere
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The archipelago's simplest dive, 6 m average in a sheltered bay