The island of Graciosa is considered the Diving Capital of the Archipelago of the Azores because it offers a great variety of tourist diving sites, and the small size of this island allows several dives to be made along the coast of the island from the village of Santa Cruz or Vila da Praia, depending on the weather conditions. This great variety of diving sites are relevant for marine life, rock formations, as well as of high historical and cultural interest. It is an island known as an excellent place for relaxing baths along its coast, highlighting the thermal spa of Termas do Carapacho which is located in the sheltered bay overlooking the Carapacho islets.
There are several well-known diving spots in Graciosa, such as the shipwreck of Terceirense which is located at the entrance of the port of Praia, at a depth of 21 meters on the east coast of the island, and also the splendid cave of Carapacho which, as previously mentioned, is located on one of the islets of Carapacho. Undoubtedly, the northeast coast of the island also offers excellent diving spots that are known and coveted by divers who regularly visit the island, such as the lowlands near the village of Santa Cruz, the Baixa do Ferreiro de Fora and Baixa do Pesqueiro Longo that present a great number of schools of pelagic fish, mere and colourful branches of black coral. The casualties, wrecks and islets, are an underwater heritage that must be preserved and made known and that provides visitors with low and medium difficulty dives, which meet the desire of novice divers and also the most experienced.
With great visibility of about 20 to 30 meters, the waters can reach temperatures between 18 and 24 degrees Celsius. In addition, the fauna is varied and rich, consisting essentially of mules, sharks, tunas, mountains, morays, lilies, shrimps, blankets, among several other interesting species to see. The black coral is also a rare beauty that arouses much curiosity in divers and that can be found in specific places around the island of Graciosa.
One can then say that the connection of the island of Graciosa with the sea is perfect, and the sea of the Azores is considered by many people the sea of choice for diving. The island of Graciosa was considered as the capital for underwater photography, a place that was chosen throughout Europe to hold the 1st European Championship of Underwater Photography. This first European Championship was disputed by 30 Athletes, of which 15 photographers and 15 models, distributed by 9 countries: Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain, France, Holland, Italy, Turkey and Portugal, the organizing country.
