Sesimbra & the Arrábida · Portugal · Wall
Paredes do Cabo
Cape walls at 12–15 m strewn with River Gurara debris
Area photo: YukioSanjo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Walls immediately below the Cabo Espichel cliff, dived at about 12–15 m. What sets the site apart is what is scattered on the ground: traces of the River Gurara, whose stern section lies roughly 100 m to the south. Cuttlefish, red mullet and seabream work the rock along the way.
Where it is and how deep
38.4114° N, 9.2160° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The walls run along the foot of the Cabo Espichel cliff, and the dive follows them at about 12–15 m — shallow ground by the standards of this stretch, which means a long dive and a wide margin. The rock is the usual Sesimbra material: shelved, ledged and covered in growth rather than coral, and several species use the cover it gives them to hide from larger predators.
The find here is wreckage. Traces of the River Gurara are scattered over the bottom, the shallow spill from a ship that broke in two off this cape, and the stern section itself lies about 100 m to the south — close enough that the site works as the second dive after the wreck or as the shallow alternative when depth is not on the plan. Cuttlefish sit against the rock, with red mullet and seabream over it.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
| 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
- Paredes do Cabo — Scubago — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
- River Gurara Popa — Scubago — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
More dive sites in Sesimbra & the Arrábida
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Surface-breaking rock at 15 m with nudibranchs in the cuts
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Tile-carrying wreck at 55–65 m, expert divers only
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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
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Gorgonian carpet at 28–30 m where sunfish come to be cleaned
Low rock with lost anchors on the bottom at 15–18 m
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Easy 13 m rock where octopus, cuttlefish and squid lay eggs
Similar dives elsewhere
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Wall
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