Amorgos · Greece · Cave & cavern
Small Sparti Caves
A narrow passage under fallen rock, entered at about 18 m
Area photo: Kondephy · CC BY-SA 4.0
Small Sparti Caves is a swim-through on the east side of Amorgos, where fallen rock has left a narrow passage with its entrance at around 18 m. The dive centre works the site between 5 and 35 m, so the rock either side of the passage carries the rest of the dive, with colourful soft coral on the walls and ceiling of the gap itself. It is short on current and long on overhead, and it is dived as one.
Where it is and how deep
36.8925° N, 26.0071° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site sits on the east side of the island and the dive is built around one feature. Amorgos Diving Center works it between 5 and 35 m, so the profile is yours to set: most of the interest is the passage, whose entrance lies at around 18 m where a fall of rock has left a gap open enough to swim through. It is a relatively narrow one, so it is dived deliberately, one diver at a time, with buoyancy sorted out before anyone goes in rather than inside it.
Through the gap, the walls and the ceiling are covered in colourful soft corals, and that growth is the reason to carry a light and go slowly: colour in an overhead only appears when you put light on it. Octopus, barracuda and nudibranchs are the regulars on the rock outside, along with sponges and shrimps in the cracks.
Currents here are mild if they run at all, so the ascent is unhurried. Come back out of the passage onto the shallower rock, work the 5 m end of the range while you off-gas, and agree a maximum on the boat first if anyone intends to use the deeper half of the site rather than staying at the cave.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Barracuda
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Amorgos: Courses and testimonials cluster June to October, with October unpredictable. The meltemi unsettles late summer; winter winds and currents put some sites out of reach without closing the island.
Know before you go
- The passage is narrow and overhead: go in with a light, one diver at a time, and only if you can hold trim well enough not to stir the bottom up behind you.
- The site runs to 35 m, well below the passage: set a depth limit before the dive rather than following the rock down past the cave.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Small Sparti Caves?+
The dive centre gives the site as 5 to 35 metres maximum, with the entrance to the swim-through at around 18 metres. Most of the dive is spent around the passage rather than at the deeper end.
Are there currents at Small Sparti Caves?+
The dive centre describes very mild currents at this site, if any at all. The complication here is the overhead, not the water movement.
Sources
- Small Sparti Caves — Scubago / Amorgos Diving Center
- Daily Boat Trips — Amorgos Diving Center
More dive sites in Amorgos
Flat reef to 18 m, then a wall to about 40 m
Wreck
A wartime debris trail from 13 m past recreational depth
A pocketed wall sloping to 40 m off Nikouria islet
A cavern at around 25 m on the islet's northern wall
Wall
Bauxite loading gear on an 18 m plateau below the mines
Similar dives elsewhere
A 30 m tunnel through the cliffs from 6 m, plus a cavern with an air bubble
Small caves and walls at 9 m off the Salou headland
A cave at 20 to 35 m in front of the Lérins islands
Parallel tunnels between 2 and 7 m, lit electric blue from the openings