Garajau Marine Reserve

Protected since 1986, Garajau is the reason Madeira appears on European divers' maps. Its dusky groupers — animals that reach well over a meter — treat divers as furniture, drifting alongside groups and posing at cleaning stations in a way that fished coastlines never see. Around them, the volcanic slope works through its cast of morays, octopus, trumpetfish, bream and roaming barracuda, with stingrays gliding over the sand margins. Depth is whatever you choose on the slope, which keeps the reserve friendly to new divers without boring experienced ones.

Khoảnh khắc bạn đến vì nó: Fearless dusky groupers, volcanic slopes, reliable shelter on the south coast

Địa hình: Volcanic boulder slopes and rock fingers over sand, dropping steadily away from the cliffs

Điểm vào: Most dives run by boat from Canico de Baixo; some shore entries exist off the reserve's beaches.

Nguy hiểm cần lưu ý: Mild surge close to the cliffs after swell; watch depth on the descending slope.

Bảo tồn: Strict no-take reserve; the grouper population is the direct result of enforcement since the 1980s. No touching or chasing.

Nitrox: Đáng dùng ở đây — các hồ sơ nằm trong khoảng độ sâu mà nitrox có thể kéo dài thời gian không dừng một cách thực sự có ý nghĩa (khi đã được đào tạo sử dụng).