Reefwander
Dark boulder-strewn lava shoreline below grassy cliffs and walled fields, with grey sea under a hazy sky — Cinco Ribeiras, Azores

Azores · Portugal · Cave & cavern

Cinco Ribeiras

Three chambers, from a shrimp cave to a funnel

Photo: José Luís Ávila Silveira/Pedro Noronha e Costa 16:00, 19 July 2007 (UTC) · Public domain

Cinco Ribeiras is a cavern dive at 17 m on the southwest coast of Terceira, in the parish of the same name. A route through three named chambers, with a choice of three ways back out, makes it a site for advanced divers only.

Also known as Cinco Ribeiras Cave, Gruta das Cinco Ribeiras.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Cinco Ribeiras: typical dive to 17 m (to 56 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit17 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

38.6750° N, 27.3308° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive runs through three chambers in turn. The first is called the shrimp cave, the second the Cavaco swim-through and the third the funnel. The cavern sits at 17 m, and divers return to open water through one of its three exits.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Cinco Ribeiras
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodFairFairFairPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodGood

Season follows Azores: June to September is the best time to dive; August to October has the clearest water, and spring nutrients turn it green.

Dive videos

Azores, Terceira - SCUBA dive Cinco Ribeiras · Rafael Von Aburg (Haffa) on YouTube

Sources

  1. Cinco Ribeiras — ScubaGo
  2. Gruta das Cinco Ribeiras — Wikipedia
  3. Terceira diving — Azores Tourism Directorate

Photo credits

More dive sites in Azores

Arches through an uncommon prismatic rock formation

to 16 mbeginner

Reef

Volcanic rock reef minutes from the Praia da Vitória marina

to 12 mbeginner

Artificial reef

Four centuries of ships' anchors scattered across Angra bay

to 25 mintermediate

Caverns and dusky groupers at bare islets in open ocean

to 30 madvanced

Wreck

An 1878 steamer wreck reached by an easy entry from land

to 10 mbeginner

Similar dives elsewhere

Cave & cavern

Barco Chino

El Hierro · Spain

A rock gate onto an 18 m plateau with two standing towers

to 18 mintermediate

Cave & cavern

Charco Verde

La Palma · Spain

Lava arches at 14 to 18 m on the edge of the marine reserve

14–18 m · max 25 mbeginner

Cave & cavern

Cruentats Cave

Gran Canaria · Spain

A cavern filled with schools of glasseye bigeyes

to 18 madvanced

Cave & cavern

Cueva de los Jureles

La Graciosa & the Chinijo Archipelago · Spain

A sea cave in a cliff that shelters large jacks and sargos

18–20 mintermediate