Filicudi & Salina · Italy · Cave & cavern · Wall
Grotta dei Gamberi
Thousands of shrimp packed into the wide mouth of a volcanic cave
A Filicudi cave whose wide mouth is crowded with thousands of young shrimp, set in a wall that drops to sand. A deep volcanic gully nearby shelters large groupers, and the dive reaches 36 m, which makes it a demanding one.
Also known as Grotta dei Gamberi di Filicudi, Shrimp Cave.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Filicudi & Salina and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The descent leads down to the cave, where thousands of resident shrimp spend their first days of life and fill every corner. The opening is wide, so the swarm can be watched in comfort from outside.
The wall in front of the cave is just as rich and ends on a sandy bottom at about 40 m. The way back follows a deep gully of volcanic rock, whose many inlets shelter big groupers along with other fish and cephalopods.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Filicudi & Salina: July and August bring the crowds and the warmest sea, near 26 °C; February bottoms out near 14 °C, and boats on Salina dive in winter too.
Sources
- Le immersioni più belle a Filicudi — Filicudi Wildlife Conservation
- Immersioni a Filicudi — eolie.eu
More dive sites in Filicudi & Salina
Moray eels and octopus in the jagged rock of Pollara's sea stack
Filicudi's most striking sea stack, where the sunset turns the island red
A rocky shoal off Filicudi's south-east coast with its top at 14 m
Reef
A huge boulder ringed by schools of sea bream off the sandy bank
Seamount
A single rock monolith rising from 40 m to within 6 m of the surface
Seamount
Large groupers living in a rockfall of boulders on an open-sea shoal
Similar dives elsewhere
Walls that seem to move under thousands of massed shrimp
The Blue Cave above an abyss on Koločep's southern shore
A drop-off to 45 m and an air pocket from 14 m to 3 m
Cave & cavern
Agios Vasileios
Lesbos · Greece
A cave that climbs from 23 m to 12 m inside an islet wall