Azores · Portugal · Cave & cavern
Gruta dos Camarões
Hundreds of shrimp packed into a narrow cavern
Gruta dos Camarões, the Shrimp Cave, is a long and narrow cavern on Santa Maria where shrimp crowd the rock in their hundreds. Small groupers, moray eels and forkbeards hunt them, so the dive is a chance to watch predators at work in low light.
Also known as Gruta dos Camaroes, Shrimp Cave.
Where it is and how deep
36.9284° N, 25.0671° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Outside the cave the depth varies between 10 and 25 m. Inside, the cave is long and narrow and the light fades; shrimp abound, and hundreds of them are a common sight. Small groupers, moray eels and forkbeards prey on them among the rock.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Macro critters
| 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
- A low-light environment inside a long, narrow cave.
Dive videos
Mergulho ilha de Santa Maria, Açores, Gruta dos Camarões (Shrimp Cave) 07-10-2022 · Nuno Pedro on YouTube
Sources
- Gruta dos Camarões - ScubaGo — ScubaGo
- Santa Maria dive sites - Haliotis — Haliotis
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