Baixa do Sul is a long rocky ridge in the middle of the channel between Faial and Pico, ten minutes by boat from Madalena. Between 6 and 50 m deep and pitted with giant potholes, it gathers bonito, trevally, barracuda and amberjacks in its current.

Why dive Baixa do Sul?

The longest and shallowest of the three reefs in the Faial-Pico channel, from 6 to 50 m
Giant potholes 8 m deep and 3 m wide carved into the rock
Pelagics at every depth: Atlantic bonito, skipjack, white trevally, yellowmouth barracuda, amberjacks
Mobula rays and sunfish possible in late summer
Ten minutes by boat from Madalena, two nautical miles from Horta harbor

The dive site on the map

Base: Madalena (Pico), 7 km as the crow flies.

See nearby dive sites on the map

Baixa do Sul in pictures

A compact ball of thousands of silver snipefish just below the surface, pierced by sunbeams, against blue that darkens toward the bottom

An oval cloud of silver snipefish stretches diagonally across the deep blue, with air bubbles rising at top left

Seen from a boat on a dark, choppy sea, a tall rocky islet on the left and a long flat islet on the right, in front of the town of Madalena and the slopes of Pico under a heavy sky

What will you see at Baixa do Sul?

Baixa do Sul is a pelagic site. The current sweeping the channel hits the rocky ridge and concentrates the schools there, at every depth, from 6 to 50 m: bluefish, Atlantic bonito, skipjack, white trevally, yellowmouth barracuda and almaco jacks pass over the platforms, especially when the current is running. Mobula rays and sunfish sometimes glide along the reef, the mobulas mostly in late summer, when wahoo also cruise the walls of the Pico coast. The bottom life is less documented than the schools; the neighboring channel reefs, Baixa da Barca and Baixa do Norte, are home to dusky groupers, island groupers, barred hogfish, red scorpionfish and horse mackerel, and the potholes of Baixa do Sul offer the same shelter. The channel is a Natura 2000 site for the bottlenose dolphin and the loggerhead turtle, which you see from the boat between Madalena and the reef, and for the common tern, which nests on the nearby islets.

Sighting calendar
Species	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D	Note
Sicklefin devil ray	rare	rare	rare	rare	rare	rare	possible	possible	peak season	possible	rare	rare	sometimes glides along the reef, mostly in late summer
Giant sunfish	rare	rare	rare	rare	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	rare	rare	passing over the platforms
Yellowmouth barracuda	rare	rare	rare	possible	possible	peak season	peak season	peak season	peak season	peak season	possible	rare	Sphyraena viridensis, schooling in the current
Atlantic bonito and skipjack tuna	rare	rare	rare	possible	possible	peak season	peak season	peak season	peak season	peak season	possible	rare	hunting at every depth, especially when the current is running
White trevally and almaco jack	rare	rare	rare	possible	possible	peak season	peak season	peak season	peak season	peak season	possible	rare	Pseudocaranx dentex and Seriola rivoliana, schooling above the ridge
Bluefish	rare	rare	rare	possible	possible	peak season	peak season	peak season	peak season	peak season	possible	rare	Pomatomus saltator, schooling with the other pelagics
Bottlenose dolphin	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	possible	in the channel, seen from the boat; the channel is protected for it and for the loggerhead turtle

peak seasonpossiblerare

What is diving like at Baixa do Sul?

Baixa do Sul is the longest and shallowest of the three reefs in the Faial-Pico channel, along with Baixa do Norte and Baixa da Barca. The ridge, running north to south, starts 6 or 8 m below the surface and steps down in rocky platforms to 50 m; the typical dive stays around 20 m, on the first terraces and in the potholes, and that is where you should stay to enjoy the site. Down to 30 m, large continuous boulders make for rugged terrain. Current is the defining feature: moderate to strong, often strong, it crosses the channel and speeds up over the shoal. The three channel reefs are for experienced divers only, Advanced Open Water at minimum, comfortable in a drift and able to ascend in open water with a DSMB, because the channel is also the ferry route between Horta and Madalena. Visibility on the Pico coast ranges from 15 to 30 m and more. The water is 19 °C in June and 23 °C in August.

When to dive Baixa do Sul?

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The Pico coast and the channel are dived from April to October. Norberto Diver, in Horta, opens from March to October; CW Azores, in Madalena, offers group prices from April to June, before high season. The water is 16 °C from January to April, 17 °C in May, 19 °C in June, 22 °C in July, 23 °C in August, 22 °C in September and 21 °C in October, then 19 and 17 °C at the end of the year; there is no marked thermocline around Pico. Wear a 7 mm wetsuit or a semidry in spring, 5 mm from July to September. The pelagic schools are densest in summer, when the current and the warmth bring them back into the channel; mobulas and wahoo show up on the coastal walls in late summer. In winter, rough seas and wind close the channel to diving most days. The site is dived on the current the dive center picks, and the trip is decided that same morning.

How to get to Baixa do Sul?

The reef lies two nautical miles southeast of Horta harbor and three nautical miles from the Madalena islets: ten minutes by RIB from Madalena, barely more from Horta. No dive center names Baixa do Sul on its price list; it is sold as a coastal dive, so ask for it by name. From Madalena, CW Azores charges €55 for a coastal dive, €200 for four, €297 for six and €440 for ten, tanks, weights, guide and boat included, on RIBs carrying eight divers. From Horta, Haliotis Faial posts €60 per dive and €99 for two, for at least four participants, with full gear at €39 a day; Norberto Diver offers coastal dives at €65, on more than twenty sites around Faial and Pico. You reach Horta or Pico via Lisbon with Azores Airlines, or via Ponta Delgada, four hours nonstop from Paris, then on a SATA Air Açores flight; the ferry crosses the channel between the two harbors.

Stay in Madalena (Pico)

Where to stay near Baixa do Sul?

Hotels, apartments and rooms around Madalena (Pico), with current prices.

What are the three reefs of the Faial-Pico channel?

The channel that separates Faial from Pico is eight kilometers wide, and three rocky shoals sit in the middle of it: Baixa do Norte, Baixa da Barca and Baixa do Sul, described in 2008 in a University of the Azores study. Baixa do Sul is a meridian reef, running north to south, two nautical miles southeast of Horta harbor, the longest and shallowest of the three, with its top at around 8 m. Down to 30 m, large continuous boulders make for rugged terrain; deeper, the platforms step down to 50 m. The most curious feature of the site is a series of giant potholes, round basins carved into the rock by boulders that the current and swell spin in place, up to 8 m deep and 3 m wide. The channel is a Special Area of Conservation in the Natura 2000 network for the common tern, the loggerhead turtle and the bottlenose dolphin.

How does a dive at Baixa do Sul unfold?

The boat drops the group on top of the ridge, at 6 or 8 m, when the current allows. You descend to the first terraces and get the measure of the site right away: platforms stepping down into the blue, boulders, and those potholes you can poke your head into. The dive is often a drift along the ridge at around 20 m, your eyes split between the rock and open water, because that is where the schools come from: bonito, skipjack, trevally, barracuda and bluefish, in waves, especially when the current is running. A mobula or a sunfish may pass in late summer. You ascend in open water under a DSMB, with the boat following your bubbles, and the guide picks the moment so you do not drift into the ferry route. Bring a wide-angle lens: the potholes and the schools are shot from a distance.

Which other reefs can you dive in the Faial-Pico channel?

If you liked Baixa do Sul, the channel has two more. Baixa da Barca and Baixa do Norte are smaller and deeper, and they too are reserved for the most experienced divers, for the same reasons: current, distance from shore and depth. Their bottom life is better described: dusky groupers, island groupers, barred hogfish, red scorpionfish and schools of horse mackerel. All three can be dived from Madalena as well as from Horta, and a week on Pico or Faial lets you string them together between two offshore trips, to Condor Bank or Princess Alice Bank, keeping the Madalena islets, five minutes from the harbor, for windy days.

Our tip

Ask for Baixa do Sul by name: price lists only mention coastal dives. Stay between 20 and 25 m, on the platforms. Deploy your DSMB as soon as you start the ascent.

Other dive sites nearby

Panorama of the two ocher tuff islets of Madalena on a dark blue sea, the long flat Ilhéu Deitado on the left and the upright Ilhéu em Pé on the right, with the white town of Horta and the green hills of Faial behind

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