Cemitério dos Navios
Also known as: Cemitério dos Farilhões, Cemiterio dos Navios, Shipwreck Cemetery
A debris field of unidentified wrecks in Peniche's outer Farilhões sector, dense enough to be called the shipwreck cemetery locally.
Last updated September 2026
The dive
"Cemitério dos Navios" is the name for a zone in the north of the Farilhões, the outer, more exposed islet group of the Berlengas archipelago, and every detailed account confirms it marks an area, never a single ship: a stretch of seabed so dense with unidentified wreck remnants that it gave the whole zone its name. One wreck is confirmed here by an independent source: Henry Mori, badly dismantled, named separately from the operator lineage that gave the zone its name. Access is by the same Peniche day boat that reaches the rest of the archipelago, but this zone rides Farilhões' own pricier, more advanced trip, separate from the standard Berlenga Grande route. No operator publishes a depth range or a route through the field, so plan this one with your guide on the day; no chart does it for you.
What makes it special
Most of the wrecks scattered through the wider Berlengas reserve are known by a name and little else. This zone is known instead for what it is: a field, not a wreck, and operators describe its ground as the Farilhões-Forcadas group's own older, harder banded gneiss, not Berlenga Grande's granite. Its closest neighbour by reputation, Highland Hope, sits in genuine dispute: a 2023 press account places the 1930 wreck inside this field,1 while two independent operator and catalogue lineages keep it separately catalogued and unlabelled. Nobody has settled it either way, and the zone's identity stays split between one press account and two catalogue lineages.
Know before you go
This zone sits on Farilhões' own trip out of Peniche: EUR95 per person for two dives with 12L or 15L tanks, cash only, above the archipelago's standard EUR85 Berlenga Grande/Estelas trip, with equipment rental an extra EUR25. That trip is sold as the sector's more exposed, weather-sensitive step up from the standard route, so build slack into any plan around it and expect the operator's call on the day to matter more than usual. Water sits at 16-20°C from June to October and closer to 15°C outside that window, calling for a 7mm wetsuit or semi-dry in summer and a semi-dry or dry suit in winter; visibility across the area's named sites typically runs 10-20m, up to 30m on a good day. The Farilhões boat runs the same 08:30-15:30 day schedule as the standard Berlenga Grande trip, so plan the rest of your Peniche day around it.
Why Dive Cemitério dos Navios
What makes this dive site stand out.
- A wreck field, not one wreck
The name marks a debris field dense with unidentified remnants in the Farilhões
- Henry Mori inside the field
An independent catalogue places the wreck Henry Mori within this zone
- Highland Hope link disputed
One press account ties Highland Hope here; two operator catalogues keep it separate
- Farilhões-only day trip
Sold on Peniche's pricier, more advanced Farilhões route, not the standard trip
Depth & Profile
Location
39.4802°N, 9.5415°W
Conditions & difficulty
Farilhões runs as the archipelago's more exposed, weather-sensitive sector; expect more cancelled days here than at the sheltered inner sites, especially outside the June-October window
The Farilhões day trip that reaches this zone runs EUR95 per person for two dives with 12L or 15L tanks, above the archipelago's standard EUR85 Berlenga Grande/Estelas trip; equipment rental adds EUR25, cash only
What decides who goes is the trip itself, not a stated card: Farilhões is sold as Peniche's pricier, more advanced route, a step up from Berlenga Grande's sheltered sites, and comfort with that exposed crossing is the practical bar.
Summary
The terrain sets the practical bar underwater: a debris field over hard, older bedrock, not a single hull to follow. Getting there is the bigger factor than the diving itself, since Farilhões is priced as the archipelago's more advanced, more exposed step up from Berlenga Grande's sheltered sites.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
- Access and entry: Farilhões is sold as the sector's more exposed, weather-sensitive step up from the sheltered Berlenga Grande sites; the only firm sea-conditions threshold any operator states by name belongs to the neighbouring Highland Hope wreck, not this zone, but the same outer-sector exposure applies to the whole Farilhões tripBook the Farilhões trip expecting less certainty than the standard Berlenga Grande route, and leave room in your schedule for the operator to call it off
Rules and permits
- Conduct: no touching, no taking anything, no disturbing wildlife, no damage to the seabed, no litter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cemitério dos Navios one shipwreck or a whole area?▾
A whole area. Every source that describes it in detail calls it a zone dense with wreck remnants in the north of the Farilhões, not one named vessel. An independent catalogue lineage, unrelated to the operator that named the zone, separately places the wreck Henry Mori inside it, badly dismantled but confirmed as one of the wrecks that make up the field.
Is Highland Hope part of the Shipwreck Cemetery?▾
It depends which source you read, and this is genuinely unresolved. A 2023 regional press account places the Highland Hope wreck, an English liner lost in 1930, inside the area now known as the shipwreck cemetery. Against that, two separate operator and catalogue listings give Highland Hope its own separate entry with no cemetery label attached, and instead confirm the same wreck named above sits inside the field, though one of those listings spells its name Henri Mori rather than Henry Mori; both point to one wreck, not two. Treat Highland Hope as a disputed neighbour of this zone, not confirmed as part of it, and do not carry its depth or condition over to this site.
How deep is the dive at Cemitério dos Navios?▾
No operator publishes a depth range for the zone as a whole. Individual named wrecks close to it, Highland Hope among them, have their own separately stated depths, but those figures describe those wrecks specifically, not this one. Ask your operator for the day's plan.
What certification do I need to dive here?▾
The practical answer sits underwater, not on a card: this is a debris field, not a single hull, so there's no marked route to follow, and steady buoyancy and navigation over open, unfamiliar ground matter more than a specific certification level. Farilhões is priced as the more advanced trip out of Peniche regardless of which specific site the boat reaches that day, so operators already expect divers comfortable with that step up.
Do I need a BerlengasPass, or is there a visitor cap, to dive here?▾
Not for the dive itself. The BerlengasPass is a EUR3 personal permit for setting foot on Berlenga Grande's own land, where the reserve's human capacity is fixed by ICNF at 550 simultaneous visitors, not the 350 sometimes quoted elsewhere. A Farilhões boat dive that never lands on Berlenga Grande reads as outside that land-access scope in practice.
What does a trip to Cemitério dos Navios cost?▾
The Farilhões day trip that reaches this zone runs EUR95 per person for two dives with 12L or 15L tanks, cash only, above the archipelago's standard EUR85 Berlenga Grande/Estelas trip. Equipment rental adds EUR25.
What does the wreck or the marine life look like at Cemitério dos Navios?▾
Only one detail is confirmed for the zone itself: the Henry Mori wreck is badly dismantled. No operator or catalogue publishes a species list or a fuller condition survey for this specific zone, so treat the reef life typical of a Berlengas wreck as a general possibility here, not a confirmed sighting.
References
- 1.Gazeta das Caldas, January 19, 2023 — Um mergulho ao fundo do mar do Oeste
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