Zadar & Dugi Otok · Croatia · Cave & cavern · Wall
Mežanj
A cave chamber left through an opening in its ceiling
Mežanj is a tiny islet off the open-sea side of Dugi Otok with a huge underwater cave and several smaller caverns. Its walls are covered in gorgonians and sponges, and the main chamber has a steep slope at its back and an exit through its ceiling.
Also known as Mezanj, Mezanj Island, Mezanj islet.
Where it is and how deep
44.0926° N, 14.9179° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Divers find the cave entrance at around 10 m and swim into a spacious chamber. At the back of it a steep slope drops away to 40 m, and the chamber and the drop-off are explored before the way out.
The exit is not the entrance: divers leave through an opening in the ceiling and come out onto a plateau at around 6 m. The walls outside are covered in gorgonians and sponges, home to lobsters, scorpionfish, goatfish and red mullet.
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 | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Zadar & Dugi Otok: From October to April the bura can arrive suddenly, often overnight, blowing hardest between the mainland and Dugi Otok.
Know before you go
- The route runs under the cave roof and leaves through a ceiling opening, so the dive is an overhead one.
Dive videos
JAWS 5 - The beast from Mezanj (Diving on Dugi Otok) · Ivo Hospodka on YouTube
Blue Hole, Otok Mežanj, Hrvaška · Matej Jelen on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How is the Mežanj cave dive laid out?+
It is a multi-level route: in through the entrance at around 10 m, round the chamber with its slope falling to 40 m, then out through the ceiling onto a plateau at around 6 m.
Sources
- Mezanj Island — Divebooker
- Scuba Diving Dugi otok — Apartments Savar
- Diving Spots — Kornati Diving Center
- OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap
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