Buracona and the Blue Eye
Buracona on Sal: the natural rock pool and the Blue Eye, a sea cave that glows blue in strong sun. When to go, the entry fee and the tours that stop.
Buracona is a stretch of black lava coast on Sal’s north-west shore, about 5 km north of Palmeira, with a natural rock pool for swimming and the Blue Eye: a hole in the rock above a flooded sea cave that turns a vivid, glowing blue when strong sun shines straight down into it. It needs the sun high and the sky clear, so the hours around midday are the time to be there. Entry is €3 to €5 a person (checked October 2026). sodadetour’s day round the island stops there along with Palmeira, the salt lake and Shark Bay, from £24 a person (checked October 2026), entries paid on the day.
What the Blue Eye is
The Blue Eye, Olho Azul in Portuguese, is a small opening in the lava a short walk from the pool. Look down it and you see seawater in a cave below. Most of the day it is dark. When the sun is near its highest, light falls through a gap into the cave, bounces off its sandy floor and lights the water from underneath, and for a while the hole glows an electric blue, like an eye looking back. Clouds or a low sun and it is just a dark hole with water in it.
On busy days there is a queue to look in: one reviewer of the Shark Bay tour waited about an hour for a few seconds’ look, while others walked straight up. In bad weather the site can be closed, and reviewers describe going on to Palmeira instead.
When to go
- Around midday, on a sunny day. The light has to come from almost straight above. The tours plan their order round it: Sal Experiences' island day changes the sequence of stops by the day’s conditions so the sights are seen at the right time.
- Calm sea. The swimming pool and the walk to the Eye depend on the waves; Sal Experiences' Shark Bay tour lists both as weather and sea permitting.
- Any month. Sal is dry and sunny for most of the year.
Check dates for the island day
The natural pool
Beside the Eye, the lava encloses a pool that the sea tops up over the rocks: a sheltered swim when the waves are small. Bring water shoes for the rock. Reviewers from August to October 2026 single out the Blue Eye and Buracona as stops they enjoyed.
Buracona is part of the Buracona-Ragona protected landscape, marked out in 2014.
What it costs
Entry is €3 to €5 a person, paid on arrival (checked October 2026). Some tours include it:
| Trip | Listing price | Buracona entry |
|---|---|---|
| Island day with Palmeira, 6 hours (sodadetour) | From £24 | Paid on the day |
| Shark Bay, salt lake and Blue Eye, 4 hours (Sal Experiences) | From £38 | Included |
| Island day with a local guide, 7 hours (Sal Experiences) | From £29 in current promotion (usually £32) | €5, paid on the day |
| Small-group day, up to 8 guests (Kapverden Tours) | From £24 | €3, paid on the day |
Listing prices: GetYourGuide checked October 2026. Entry terms from each listing, checked October 2026.
Pick your trip
Blue Eye, Salt Lake, Lemon Sharks and Palmeira Day Tour
A day round the island in a group of up to 12: Murdeira, Palmeira, Buracona, Terra Boa, the salt lake and Shark Bay. Entries paid on the day.
Check dates →Shark Bay, Pedra de Lume Salt Lake and the Blue Eye Half Day
Four hours: the salt lake, Shark Bay and Buracona, with the salt lake and Buracona entries included.
See the half day →Sal Island Day: Sharks, Salt Lake and the Blue Eye
Carlos Cruz Tours' six-to-seven-hour day in a small group: the Blue Eye, the salt lake and the sharks, at an easy pace.
See the slow day →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked October 2026; Viator checked October 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Nearby
- Palmeira: Sal’s fishing port, 5 km south, with fish restaurants and the boats coming in.
- Terra Boa: the flat plain inland where the heat makes a mirage of water on the horizon; the island tours pause there.
- Shark Bay and the salt lake: across the island on the east coast; see the Pedra de Lume guide and the homepage for the sharks.
More Trips with Open Dates
More Sal and Boa Vista Trips with Open Dates
Shark Bay, island tours, boats and turtle walks with live availability. Times and cancellation terms are on each listing.
The Blue Eye, Palmeira and the Sharks in a Day
sodadetour's day from Santa Maria in a group of up to 12: Buracona, Palmeira, the salt lake and Shark Bay. The entries are paid on the day.
See dates