Capo Caccia & Nereo Cave · Italy · Cave & cavern
Grotta dei Fantasmi
White limestone tunnels, air pockets and an internal lake
Area photo: Teresa Grau Ros from Barcelona · CC BY-SA 2.0
Grotta dei Fantasmi is a submerged cave in the limestone of Punta Giglio, entered at 7 m and running about 70 metres into the rock without ever going deeper. The passages are white limestone throughout, in places only a few tens of centimetres below the surface, and they link a series of air pockets and an internal lake.
Also known as Ghost Cave.
Where it is and how deep
40.5698° N, 8.2065° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You go in at 7 m, and that is the deepest the cave gets. The passages run about 70 metres into the rock and in places sit only a few tens of centimetres below the surface, so the profile is defined by how little water is above you rather than by how much is below. Depth is not the constraint on this dive; the overhead is.
The rock is white limestone all the way through, cut into knife-edged blades and calcite formations, and there is almost nothing living inside — which is why the water is as clear as it is, provided the sediment on the floor stays where it is. Air pockets break above your head as you go, and there is an internal lake in the cave that divers surface into. Pale walls throw torchlight back, and the effect has been compared to a Central American cenote.
Background
The cave was found in the summer of 1994, on a night dive by Marco Busdraghi, who carried out the first explorations and surveys of it. It runs about 70 metres into the east face of the Punta Giglio massif, part of the karst complex a few kilometres from Alghero, and its formations — knife-edged blades of eroded limestone and calcite concretions — were cut by water forced through the rock under pressure long before the sea stood where it does now.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Capo Caccia & Nereo Cave: May–Oct is the settled season; winter mistral and north-westerlies make the exposed cape unworkable for weeks at a time.
Know before you go
- A shallow overhead is still an overhead: air pockets and a ceiling a few tens of centimetres down invite an unplanned surfacing inside the cave. Stay with the guide and the route out.
- Almost nothing lives inside, so the clarity rests entirely on the sediment staying on the floor — one careless fin kick takes the visibility away from everyone behind you.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Grotta dei Fantasmi?+
The entrance is at 7 m and that is the maximum depth of the cave. Beyond it the passages run only a few tens of centimetres below the surface for roughly 70 metres.
Do you need cave training for Grotta dei Fantasmi?+
It is an overhead dive rather than a deep one, dived with a guide and lights. Buoyancy control matters more than depth here, because the ceiling is close and the clarity depends on not disturbing the floor.
Sources
- Grotta dei Fantasmi - Alghero — Scubago
- Grotta dei Fantasmi — Wikipedia (Italian)
- Punta Giglio — Wikipedia (Italian)
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