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Steep, tree-topped limestone cliffs above a turquoise cove at Paleokastritsa, Corfu.

Corfu · Greece · Cave & cavern

Chimney

A vertical cave shaft from 28 m to a top at 5 m

Area photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Chimney is exactly what its name says: a vertical shaft through the Paleokastritsa rock that begins at 28 m and opens out at the top at just 5 m. It is a true overhead environment rather than a swim-through, and the dive centres restrict it to certified cave divers, who climb it as a single committing ascent.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Chimney: typical dive 5–28 m (15–92 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit5 m28 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

39.6645° N, 19.7240° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive is built around one feature. You descend outside the rock to the lower entrance at 28 m, where the shaft opens; from there the route is vertical, up through the chimney itself, with rock on every side until the top opens out at 5 m. There is no swim along a reef first and no shallow version of the site — the shaft is the dive.

Because the whole ascent happens inside the rock, buoyancy control is everything: the cave-certification rule exists because a closed vertical shaft leaves no room for a fast or uncontrolled ascent. The top of the chimney lets you out at 5 m, shallow enough to level off and finish the dive calmly in open water above the Paleokastritsa rock.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Chimney
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Off-seasonOff-seasonOff-seasonFairFairGoodPrimePrimePrimeGoodFairOff-season

Season follows Corfu: No operator publishes opening months; ratings follow seatemperature.info's Corfu monthlies (below 18°C Nov-Mar, 26.4°C peak in August), with April kept open on operators' own spring dive reports.

Know before you go

  • A fully enclosed vertical shaft from 28 m to 5 m — an uncontrolled ascent has nowhere to vent, which is why access is limited to cave-certified divers.

Sources

  1. Chimney dive site — Scubago

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Pinnacle

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