Zakynthos · Greece · Cave & cavern
Butterfly Cave
The exit opening is shaped like a huge butterfly
Area photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0
Butterfly Cave is the serious cave dive of south Zakynthos: a cavern about 35 m long in 8 to 10 m of water that anyone on the boat can enjoy, leading into a genuine overhead passage for cave-experienced divers only, which exits through an opening shaped like a huge butterfly. Crabs, lobsters and, many times, the monk seal are found inside.
Also known as Cave Tunnel, Paternoster Höhle.
Where it is and how deep
37.6458° N, 20.8327° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The main attraction is a huge cavern about 35 m long sitting in just 8 to 10 m of water, and this first stretch is open to everyone on the trip: a wide, shallow tunnel where the daylight fades gradually as you work in, with time to look for the crabs and lobsters that live along its walls before the character of the site changes completely.
After 35 m the full-cave section begins, diveable only for experienced divers used to an overhead environment. Those who continue get the site's signature at the far end: the exit itself, an opening shaped like a huge butterfly that gives the cave its local name. Spanish lobsters live inside, and the monk seal has been found in here many times.
Outside the cave the site runs deeper, with a listed maximum of 40 m, and current is rated medium at one to two knots, which matters on the swim to and from the entrance. wannadive puts the required level at CMAS three-star or Rescue, so treat the full traverse as a dive to plan with a guide who knows the passage, not an add-on to a cavern tour.
Marine life and season
- Seals & sea lions
- Macro critters
| 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 | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Zakynthos: Dive centres run trips May to October; the warmest water and calmest conditions come in summer, and the sea stays above 20°C into November.
Know before you go
- Beyond the 35 m cavern the site becomes a full overhead cave with no direct surface access — only divers trained and experienced in caves should continue.
- Current is rated at one to two knots, which counts on the open-water swim to and from the cave mouth.
Sources
- wannadive.net — Butterfly Cave — wannadive.net
- Turtle Beach Diving Center — Diving Places — Diving Center Turtle Beach
- scubago — Paternoster Höhle — scubago.com
In The Logbook
- Diving with seals and sea lionsBig animals · 17 min read
More dive sites in Zakynthos
Pinnacle
The locals say its better name would be moray eel reef
Wall
An old fishing net at 30 m is now a colony of peacock worms
A milky sulphur layer floats inside the second cavern
Reef
Canyons to explore in the shallows, with no current
Wall
An 18 m average over a 40 m bottom, with no current
Octopus holes on the slope and lobsters on the drop-off
A jackfish school works the back of a rock inside the marine park
Reef
A rocky slope, a long wall and a tiny cave to finish
Similar dives elsewhere
A 40 m long cavern where shrimps, crayfish and lobsters breed
Walls that seem to move under thousands of massed shrimp
Red coral and cup coral inside the Mediterranean's largest sea cave
.jpg){kind=link}
A cave at 20 to 35 m in front of the Lérins islands