Mediterranean · Greece
Kalymnos & Telendos
Caves, arches and gorges in the Labyrinth of Telendos
Photo: mawieser · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kalymnos, in the Greek Aegean, and Telendos, the car-free islet 1 km off its coast, offer diving on rocky limestone terrain: the caves, arches and gorges of the Labyrinth of Telendos, steep cliffs at the Meteora of Kalymnos, walls and sea caves at Nera, broken amphorae in the Garden of the Amphorae and the wreck of the Panormitis. The sea is clear and the currents low.
About diving in Kalymnos & Telendos
Several sites need a boat: Pnigmenos Bay on Telendos is reached only from the water, and boats also run to the islet of Nera. Most dives stay within 30 m. One area is closed to tanks. Scuba is not allowed in the Sunken City off Telendos, where an earthquake sank a piece of land and part of an ancient city, though snorkelling and freediving are allowed there and scuba dives run along its northern and southern edges.
Underwater this is limestone country rather than coral reef: a rocky sea floor of caverns, reefs, walls and wrecks that mirrors the cliffs above water. Sponges, sea anemones, soft corals and nudibranchs cover the rock; sea breams, scorpionfish, parrotfish, moray eels and octopus are the usual encounters, while stingrays, barracudas, amberjacks and dolphins are rare but possible. Posidonia meadows cover most of the Sunken City. The Panormitis, built in Norway as the Fjellstrand and seized by the Nazis in 1941, sank off the island in 1966 and now lies broken.
Low, smooth currents and clear water suit beginner and intermediate divers, and the island works for a first certification course as well as for practising advanced skills. Nera is the step up: it suits divers with experience of wall diving in current, and currents in the Telendos channel vary, so local knowledge matters there. Divers after dramatic coral should look elsewhere; the marine life is typically Mediterranean, best seen in the clear water of spring.
Best time to dive Kalymnos & Telendos
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Winter runs from late October, when colder north winds arrive and air temperatures drop sharply; the sea bottoms out near 17 °C in March. May and June are the pick: spring is comfortable, and the Telendos channel then records visibility of 25 m or more. The water keeps warming through the summer to a peak near 25 °C in August. September and October are again comfortable, if more variable from day to day, until the north winds return late in October.
Dive types & marine life
Mediterranean moray eel, common octopus and European grouper are the signature species and turn up reliably at the main sites. Seahorses have been recorded in the Posidonia seagrass meadows of the Telendos channel.
- Reef
- Wall
- Cave & cavern
- Wreck
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
Best dive sites in Kalymnos & Telendos
- 1
Labyrinth of Telendos
Maze of rock dived in all weather, by day and on night dives.
- 2
Nera Island
Islet south of Kalymnos with walls, sea caves and the densest marine life around the island.
- 3
Garden of the Amphorae
Remnants of ancient Greek amphorae from shipwrecks among rocks and colourful fauna.
- 4
Panormitis wreck
Former Norwegian luxury ship lying broken at 32–37 m.
- 5
Meteora of Kalymnos
High, steep underwater cliffs crowded with fish.
- 6
Pnigmenos Bay
First cove on the back side of Telendos, diving to 20 m.
Site guides
Reef
Rock gorges to stop in and study the walls up close
How to get to Kalymnos & Telendos
Kalymnos Island National Airport (JKL) lies a few kilometres from Pothia, but most visitors come over from neighbouring Kos on the frequent ferries. Telendos is administratively part of Kalymnos.
Dive videos
Diving in Telendos Isl. with Kalymnos Diving Centre. My first OWD dive and video · Jiannis Paschalidis on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can divers scuba dive at the Sunken City on Kalymnos?+
No. Scuba diving is not allowed in the marked Sunken City zone, though snorkelling and freediving there are permitted, and scuba dives follow its northern and southern edges.
Can Open Water divers dive the Panormitis wreck?+
Only as an adventure dive towards the Advanced Open Water course. Otherwise it is for Advanced Open Water divers or higher, as the broken wreck lies between 32 and 37 m.
Is there a hyperbaric chamber on Kalymnos?+
Yes. There is a hyperbaric chamber at Kalymnos Hospital, on the island itself.
Sources
- http://www.kalymnosdiving.gr/amphoras-garden — www.kalymnosdiving.gr
- http://www.kalymnosdiving.gr/panormitis-wreck — www.kalymnosdiving.gr
- http://www.kalymnosdiving.gr/scuba-diving-kalymnos-island — www.kalymnosdiving.gr
- http://www.kalymnosdiving.gr/sunken-city — www.kalymnosdiving.gr
- http://www.kalymnosdiving.gr/labyrinth-of-telendos — www.kalymnosdiving.gr
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telendos — en.wikipedia.org
- https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Kalymnos — en.wikivoyage.org
- https://www.divelog.gr/divepost/kolpos-pnigmenos-telendos/?lang=en — www.divelog.gr
- https://www.letsferry.com/blog/scuba-diving-in-7-greek-islands — www.letsferry.com
- https://www.seatemperature.org/europe/greece/kalymnos-average.htm — www.seatemperature.org
- https://www.tripbase.com/destinations/kalymnos-greece/diving/ — www.tripbase.com
Photo credits
- The steep, bare limestone peak of Telendos rising from deep blue sea, with a few white houses along its shoreline under a clear sky by mawieser, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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