Menorca · Spain · Cave & cavern
Cueva Anklis
An 80 m guideline into the rock, and the light on the way out
Area photo: Alejandro Muñoz Cabrisas · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cueva Anklis, also called Churchdoor, is a cave on the west coast just north of Ciutadella, with an Ariadne line running 80 metres in from the entrance. Maximum depth on the dive is 24.5 metres and it can be done from a boat or from the coast. From the back of the cave, looking out towards the blue, the play of light is what the site is dived for.
Also known as Churchdoor.
Where it is and how deep
39.9976° N, 3.7995° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site works from a boat or from the shore, and the dive is built around the cave rather than the rock outside it. Maximum depth is 24.5 metres. Inside, a permanent Ariadne line runs 80 metres in from the entrance, which is what makes the penetration repeatable rather than exploratory: you follow the line in and the same line back out instead of route-finding in the dark on the way home.
The payoff is at the far end. Looking back down the cave towards the blue, the entrance frames the light, and that play of light is what the site is dived for. Outside it, the rock and the shallows carry schools of damselfish, barracuda, white and gilthead seabream, thick-lipped grey mullet, ornate wrasse, moray eels, octopus, and both common and mottled groupers, so the exit is not a formality.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Barracuda
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Menorca: Menorca's tourist season runs May to October; June to September holds the warmest water, near 25–27°C in August, while February and March fall to about 12–14°C.
Know before you go
- An 80 m penetration on a guideline is real overhead diving: gas reserved for the swim back out, a primary and a backup light, and training to match are not optional here.
Sources
- Cueva Anklis / Churchdoor — Scubago
More dive sites in Menorca
Wreck
A Second World War Ju 88 on open sand at 45 to 47 metres
Wall
A wall corner on the north coast where the big groupers sit
Seamount
A seamount circled at the edge of the northern reserve
Cave & cavern
A 200 m gallery under the cliff, entered through a 12 m crack
A south-facing canyon to 35 m with an old anchor at its base
Wreck
A 110 m steamship with her deck at 30 m and the sand at 40
Wreck
A 23 m barge at 27 m, sunk as an artificial reef off Son Bou
Cave & cavern
Named stalactite chambers from 26 m up to a 3 m inner cave
Similar dives elsewhere
Linked chambers and arches beneath the Kleftiko sea caves
Two rock cones on bright sand beyond a natural tunnel
Cave & cavern
The Cave of the Black Rock
Kos & the Kefalos Peninsula · Greece
Schools of barracuda in the blue off a drop-off that falls to around 50 m
A 30 m tunnel through the cliffs from 6 m, plus a cavern with an air bubble