Capo Caccia & Nereo Cave · Italy · Cave & cavern
Grotta delle Stalattiti
Submerged stalactites and the old sea-level line, past the 7 m entrance
Area photo: Teresa Grau Ros from Barcelona · CC BY-SA 2.0
Grotta delle Stalattiti is a cave in the Punta Giglio karst that was formerly a watercourse, which its smooth, eroded walls still show. Very old stalactites, now submerged, remain intact in its vaults, and just past the entrance at 7 m there is a demarcating line at the old sea level with a column stalactite of considerable size beside it.
Where it is and how deep
40.5705° N, 8.2078° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The entrance is at 7 m, and the first thing worth stopping for is immediately inside it: the demarcating line across the rock at the old sea level, and beside it a column stalactite of considerable size. Both are the reason the cave is dived rather than incidental to it, so the start of the dive is slow and the torch does most of the work.
Further in, the cave reads as what it used to be. The walls are smooth and eroded in the way running water leaves stone, and the vaults hold very old stalactites, still intact and now underwater, with traces of stalagmites set into the floor showing their concentric rings. Only the 7 m entrance depth is published, so the demand of the dive is overhead conduct rather than depth: lights, a guide who knows the passages, and buoyancy steady enough that formations this old are never used as handholds.
Background
The cave was formerly a watercourse, and still looks it: the walls are smooth and eroded rather than fractured. The stalactites in its vaults formed in air, when the cave was dry and the sea stood lower than it does now; they are submerged today and still intact, with traces of stalagmites embedded in the floor, their concentric rings visible. The demarcating line just past the 7 m entrance marks that older sea level.
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
- The formations are fragile and irreplaceable — a fin kick or a steadying hand takes off growth that formed over a very long time. Keep off the walls and vaults entirely.
Questions divers ask
What is there to see in Grotta delle Stalattiti?+
Very old submerged stalactites in the vaults, still intact, a large column stalactite just inside, stalagmite traces in the floor, and the demarcating line at the old sea level a short way past the 7 m entrance.
Sources
- Grotta delle Stalattiti - Alghero — Scubago
- Punta Giglio — Wikipedia (Italian)
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