Tenerife · Spain · Cave & cavern
Brains Cave
A 12 m cavern with two halls and a light hole in the ceiling
A cavern built into the shore ten minutes by boat from Playa San Juan, with two halls, left and right, at only 12 metres. The right-hand hall runs further back; the left has a hole in its ceiling that drops daylight into the chamber. The draw is a brain-shaped sponge, Corallistes nolitangere, found only between Portugal and Cape Verde.
Where it is and how deep
28.1731° N, 16.8075° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Ten minutes of boat from Playa San Juan puts you off a cavern built into the shore, and the whole of it sits just 12 metres deep, so depth is not what makes the dive. Inside, the cavern splits into two halls. The right-hand one goes a bit further back into the rock; the left-hand one is the brighter, because a hole in its ceiling brings light down into the cavern.
The reason to make the trip is on the rock: Corallistes nolitangere, a sponge that looks like a brain and is found only between Portugal and Cape Verde, in caves with fresh water access. Carry a torch even for the lit hall, since colour goes early under an overhead and a beam is what separates the sponge from the wall behind it. Both halls sit at the same 12 metres, so it is the overhead rather than the depth that sets the limits on this dive.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Tenerife: Divable all year in 18–25°C water; Jun–Oct is warmest and calmest, and winter swell mainly affects the north coast.
Know before you go
- It is an overhead environment: both halls run back into the rock, so a torch, a way out you can see, and a guide who knows the layout are what keep this a cavern dive rather than a cave one.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Brains Cave?+
The cavern and both of its halls sit at about 12 metres, so the dive is a shallow one despite being an overhead.
Sources
- Brains Cave - Scubago — Scubago (SSI MyDiveGuide)
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