Palinuro and Cilento · about 1 km from Palinuro
Grotta del Sangue
- Max depth15 m
- CertificationFull cave
- SpecialExperienced divers
Diving and fills
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Fills nearby
- Fill stationPalinuro Sub Diving CenterCylinder fills and rental; gases not stated — ask about nitrox, trimix and O₂Route ↗
- Fill stationDiving Continente BluNot stated — askRoute ↗
The dive
The cave is named after its red walls, coloured by bacteria. It has many cracks, long routes and dead ends, and visibility becomes poor once the silt is stirred.
1 earlier accident or incident has been reported at this cave. Read what happened ↓
Profile and sections
The cave is named after its red walls, coloured by bacteria. It has many cracks, long routes and dead ends, and visibility becomes poor once the silt is stirred. Hydrogen-sulphide emissions are reported.
- Depth and profile
- Max ~-15 m (news reports 2012). Length and layout not published; long routes with dead ends.
- Configuration
- Passage sizes unknown: compact configuration and always a continuous line to the exit. Many cracks and side passages.
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable (estimate)
- Short and complex, with a lot of silt: not a scooter dive.
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Configuration unknown — research beforehand
- Goes down to 15 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
- Experienced divers only
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
By boat from Palinuro harbour, with a local dive centre.
Around Grotta del Sangue
Fills2 fill stations · nearest 1 km
Palinuro Sub Diving Center
Via Porto snc, 84051 Palinuro (Centola)
Cylinder fills and rental; gases not stated — ask about nitrox, trimix and O₂
April–November; hours not stated
Harbour dive centre with one boat; the team has dived here since 1983. Runs cavern and cave courses and dives the Capo Palinuro caves in small groups (4–5). Second base with classroom at Hotel Le Tre Caravelle. CCR support not stated.
Diving Continente Blu
Marina di Camerota
Not stated — ask
Not stated — ask
Dive centre in Camerota (listed by CilentoMag). Its website did not respond during our research; ask about services, gases and fills.
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News
All (1)
Accidents and incidents
What happened at this cave before, with the sources. No names are given; read it as a lesson for your own planning.
- Fatal accident on 30 June 2012: four divers died during a guided group dive with a local centre. Stirred-up silt took away the visibility, the groups lost each other and the four did not find the exit; they had sought a small air pocket. Depth no more than ~-15 m. According to the president of the Vallo della Lucania court (2017), this happened in the neighbouring Grotta degli Occhi.
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines. Search for more news ↗ Searched automatically, last on 13 Nov 2026.
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