Sesimbra & the Arrábida · Portugal · Pinnacle
Arcanzil
Surface-breaking rock at 15 m with nudibranchs in the cuts
Area photo: YukioSanjo · CC BY-SA 4.0
A rock formation a few tens of metres south of the Sesimbra coast near Cabo Espichel, rising from a bottom at 15 m to the surface — its top is rarely submerged. Wrasse, seabream and red mullet work the stone, with nudibranchs, cuttlefish and octopus for anyone who slows down and looks into it.
Where it is and how deep
38.4086° N, 9.1962° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Arcanzil sits a few tens of metres south of the coast near Cabo Espichel, and like the other rocks on this stretch it runs from the bottom at 15 m clear to the surface, with the top rarely covered. The dive is a circuit: down the side to the base, around the formation, then up the faces, which is a profile that keeps you shallow at the end without needing an open-water ascent.
The rock repays slow diving. Wrasse, seabream and red mullet hold in the water around it, but the finds are on the stone — nudibranchs in the growth, cuttlefish flat against the rock, octopus in the holes. It is a site for looking closely rather than covering ground, and the shallow depth gives you the time to do it properly.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Sesimbra & the Arrábida: Aug–Oct is the warmest window; sheltered bay sites are diveable all year, but cape-facing sites take Atlantic swell in any month.
Sources
- Arcanzil — Scubago — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
More dive sites in Sesimbra & the Arrábida
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Tile-carrying wreck at 55–65 m, expert divers only
Reef
A disused submarine cable over rock at about 20 m
Pinnacle
Rock rising from 15 m to the surface near Cabo Espichel
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Exposed rocky ground at 34–42 m, lobsters and soft corals
Wall
Cape walls at 12–15 m strewn with River Gurara debris
Reef
Gorgonian carpet at 28–30 m where sunfish come to be cleaned
Low rock with lost anchors on the bottom at 15–18 m
Reef
Easy 13 m rock where octopus, cuttlefish and squid lay eggs
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