Ilhéu de Ferro Pinnacle

Ilhéu de Ferro is a volcanic sea stack off Madeira's western Porto Moniz coast where a dramatic underwater pinnacle rises from 40 metres to within 5 metres of the surface, its flanks completely encrusted with orange and yellow cup corals, sea fans, and black coral trees that thrive in the nutrient-rich upwelling that flows around the islet. Amberjack and large Atlantic bonito wheel through the blue water above the pinnacle while resident loggerhead turtles rest on ledges partway down — a collision of pelagic and benthic worlds that makes every dive here feel genuinely open-ocean in character. The site rewards experienced divers comfortable with current and open water exposure with some of Madeira's most spectacular life.