Dominican Republic
Oleg's Bat House
- CertificationFull cave
- Water temperature≈ 24–26 °C (75–79 °F)estimated, no reports yet
- SpecialSidemount
Diving and fills
Dive here with
The dive
The main line starts right below the show cave's viewing platform.
Profile and sections
The main line starts right below the show cave's viewing platform. According to the DRSS the cave has geology seen nowhere else on the island: striated rock walls, alien-looking tunnels and ceilings full of potholes, as if someone had been at work with a giant drill bit while the cave was still dry. There is an unprecedented amount of life: millions of cave shrimp, worms, snails and other cave fauna, so diving here feels like a lively reef, but in a cave.
Local people told cave diver and instructor Oleg Shevchuk about a spring in the cave, which DRSS divers then explored with the Museo del Hombre Dominicano, funded by the National Geographic Waitt Foundation. In 2011 the way in was still a 13 m climb down two ladders the locals had built, into a large, dark room full of guano from the thousands of bats, of at least four species, that live in its ceiling. At 8 m depth the divers found fossils of at least three crocodiles in the sediment, along with snake bones, while crocodiles were thought to live only in the south-west of the country.
Practical: both centres call it an exclusive dive; at Dive Dominicana Oleg Shevchuk guides you himself.
- Depth and profile
- No depth published. In 2011 one spring in the cave was reported with a maximum depth of 10 m, and about 850 m (2,800 ft) of tunnel had been explored (DR1/Listín Diario, Caving News).
- Configuration
- Sidemount only (both cave centres). Dominican Divers asks for at least Intro to Cave plus a sidemount certification; Dive Dominicana rates it an advanced dive.
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Sidemount
- 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
In the Bávaro area: 30–40 minutes on dirt roads to a remote spot you won't find without local knowledge. The landowners have turned the main entrance into a show cave, with an oak staircase down to a viewing platform and the water. Only through the cave centres in Punta Cana, which arrange access in advance (about 230 USD).
Around Oleg's Bat House
FillsNo fill station known nearby
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