Azores · Portugal · Cave & cavern
Gruta Azul
Three exits that turn a stone cave into a circuit
Gruta Azul is one of the more interesting cave dives on Santa Maria: a shallow system of stone corridors with several ways in and out. Its connected passages pass through a wide variety of settings without ever going deep.
Where it is and how deep
36.9806° N, 25.0383° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The cave never goes below 17 m. Its 150 m of stone corridors connect to three different exits, so a dive can run as a circuit through the cave rather than in and back out by the same way, passing a wide variety of settings in the rock.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Azores: Boats run May to October; July to September is the peak at Ambrósio, and the offshore trips run regularly from June.
Know before you go
- The route runs through 150 m of enclosed stone corridors, an overhead environment.
Dive videos
Azores, Santa Maria Island: Day 2, Gruta Azul - 2017 · Marc Pérez Casals on YouTube
Sources
- Gruta Azul - ScubaGo — ScubaGo
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