Garajau Marine Reserve

The Garajau reserve was created in 1986 along about two and a half kilometres of coast below Caniço, and fishing has been prohibited in it ever since - which is the whole point and the reason it is worth diving. Dusky groupers, heavily fished elsewhere in the Atlantic and slow to mature, grew large here and lost their wariness; divers encounter fish of well over a metre that approach rather than flee, along with barracuda, moray, parrotfish, rays and octopus over a bottom of volcanic boulders dropping steeply. Visibility is generally good and there is no significant current in the sheltered sections. Access is from the shore at Caniço de Baixo, where dive centres operate, or by boat; a cable car descends the cliff at one point. Above the reserve, on the headland at Garajau, stands a Christ statue of 1927.

What you actually see

• The groupers - large dusky groupers habituated to divers after decades of protection.
• The 1986 reserve - two and a half kilometres of coast closed to fishing.
• The volcanic bottom - boulder ground dropping steeply from the shore.
• The Christ statue - the 1927 figure on the headland above.

When to go

June to October for the warmest water. Half a day for a dive or snorkel. Visibility is generally better in summer.

Honest expectations

Entry from the shore is over rough volcanic boulders and can be awkward in swell. Water is cool - a wetsuit is standard year-round. Feeding the fish is prohibited and harms them. Diving requires certification and an operator; snorkelling is limited to the shallows.

Nearby

Caniço de Baixo is at the shore; Funchal is west along the coast.