Brava Northwest Wall

Brava is Cape Verde's smallest and wettest inhabited island, and the dives around its northern and western coasts are the most pristine in the archipelago precisely because the island receives very few visiting divers. The northwest wall drops from a shallow volcanic plateau at 8 metres straight down to 40 metres and beyond, with the face densely colonised by black coral trees, gorgonian fans, and layers of encrusting algae in vibrant red and purple. Schools of Atlantic blue tang sweep across the wall face while massive creole wrasse work the water column above. Hawksbill turtles are regularly encountered here alongside large shoals of yellowfin goatfish over the plateau. The remoteness of Brava means conditions must be assessed carefully — swell from the southwest can make the site untenable — but when conditions cooperate this is among the most spectacular wall dives in the eastern Atlantic.