3 caves · down to 135 m · 1 suitable for an intro team
Cave diving in Rana
- Caves3
- Max depth135 m
- Water temperature1–7 °C
- Dive centres1
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Fills nearby
- Fill stationPlura Valley (Jordbru)Air, nitrox, trimix, O₂ and argon; 3 compressors, 3 boosters and a nitrox 32 bankRoute ↗
Why come here
Just below the Arctic Circle near Mo i Rana lie cold marble caves with exceptionally clear water: usually 30–50 m visibility and up to about 100 m in winter, at 1–7 °C. Pluragrotta is Norway's best-known diveable cave, with a main line around -20 m and a deep section to about -130 m that is trimix only, all arranged through the Plura Valley dive centre on the Jordbru farm; nearby are the rarely dived Steinugleflåget and the tighter Litjåga. Plura Valley is open all year, with peak seasons in March–April and July–September; visibility drops after heavy rain and during snowmelt. Solo diving is not allowed, below -39 m you dive with helium, with only a cavern card you stay in the cavern zone, and as there is no mobile coverage at the cave you agree beforehand how to raise the alarm.
Don't miss
- Pluragrotta: marble passages where the Plura river emerges, with Arctic char at the entrance and visibility that can reach about 100 m in winter.
- Litjåga: a smaller, shallower cave for more experienced cave divers, a day trip from Plura, where a restriction leads to a few jumps and tight sections.
On a rest day
- Havmann (The Man from the Sea): Antony Gormley's 11 m granite figure stands up to its knees in the Ranfjord at Mo i Rana.
- Svartisen: The glacier near Mo i Rana in Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park, whose eastern part, Østisen, is the fourth-largest glacier in Norway.
All 3 caves
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| LitjågaPermission neededSidemount · Full cave | 22 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| PluragrottaEntry or dive feeBackmount · Intro to cave | 135 m | Backmount | Intro to cave |
| SteinugleflågetSidemount · Full cave | 132 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.
Map
Dive centres and fill stations
1 dive centres, fill stations and instructors
Dive centre
Plura Valley (Jordbru)
Plurdalsveien 1495, 8615 Skonseng
- Air, nitrox, trimix, O₂ and argon
- Cavern, Intro to cave, Full cave, CCR
- Pluragrotta
- OC, sidemount and CCR equipment
Order: partners first, clearly marked as partner; then dive centres by distance from Plura Valley (Plurdalen) and independent instructors by name. Not a recommendation: check what they offer yourself.
On this list, or should you be? Get a free partner card →Where to stay
Find a place near Plura Valley (Plurdalen), Skonseng, Mo i Rana
Villages that work well as a base for the caves in this region. Find a place for your team:
- Plura Valley (Plurdalen)Booking.com ↗
- SkonsengBooking.com ↗
- Mo i RanaBooking.com ↗
The links to Booking.com are affiliate links: if you book through one, DiveTripPlanner earns a small commission. You pay the same.
Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers
Emergencies
- Call 113 (medical) and ask for the on-call diving physician ('dykkerlege'); 112 police. In April 2024 an air ambulance and a rescue helicopter came to the cave; in 2014 the police brought in foreign cave divers for the recovery attempt, which was judged too dangerous. Rescue in dry caves (relevant for Steinugleflåget and Litjåga's dry sections) is done by volunteers of Norsk Grotteforbund. No mobile coverage at the cave.
- Hyperbaric chamber: emergency treatment at three Norwegian hospitals. The closest (~410 km in a straight line) is UNN Tromsø, University Hospital of North Norway, Hansine Hansens veg 67, 9019 Tromsø (switchboard +47 77 62 60 00). Further away: Haukeland, Bergen (Konrad Birkhaugs hus, Jonas Lies vei 79, 5021 Bergen; 24/7 diving-medicine on call via 113; switchboard +47 55 97 50 00) and Oslo University Hospital Ullevål (Kirkeveien 166, building 4, 0450 Oslo; 24/7; switchboard +47 22 11 80 80). DAN Europe +39 06 4211 5685.
Access and rules
- Access: Pluragrotta is on private land of the Jordbru farm; the owners run the Plura Valley dive centre (Plurdalsveien 1495, 8615 Skonseng; +47 908 83 370). Check in beforehand (their checklist asks for 'permission to dive'). Parking and the private road cost €50 per diver per day if you're not staying at Plura Valley's accommodation. Steinugleflåget is on their land as well; for Litjåga, ask permission to use the private road.
- 2014 police ban: after the February 2014 accident a temporary ban on entering (the affected part of) the system applied; lifted on 31 March 2014. Diving is allowed today via Plura Valley.
Gas and fills
- Gas: Plura Valley fills air, nitrox, trimix, O₂ and argon (3 compressors, 3 boosters, nitrox 32 bank) and rents OC, sidemount and CCR equipment. The club Children of the Ocean has air and nitrox. Rana Sportsdykkere in Mo i Rana doesn't fill for guests. Bodø Sportsdykkerklubb (~3 h drive) lists air, nitrox and trimix (club — ask).
Water and season
- Water and season: 1–7 °C (warmest in August); visibility usually 30–50 m, in winter up to ~100 m, less after heavy rain or during snowmelt. Plura Valley is open all year; peak seasons are March–April and July–September. In winter the pool freezes (a hole is cut). Current conditions: ask Plura Valley. Night frost as early as August. Drysuit with heating.
Safety
- Plura Valley's safety rules: no solo diving, do not dive beyond your certification or experience, at least 3 lights, helium deeper than -39 m, and change permanent lines only in consultation with Plura Valley. Also: CCR only with a CCR cave certification and unit certification, OC bailout from the furthest point, minimum age 18 for technical and cave diving. (NGDF's guidelines are for its own members.)
Getting around
- Road: from Mo i Rana take the E6 to Skonseng and turn into Plurdalen (~36 km): ~30–35 min of tarmac, then ~5 km of rough gravel; no mobile coverage for the last ~2.5 km. Snow can lie until June. Litjåga is ~0.5 km from the E6 in Dunderlandsdalen; in winter through deep snow (snowmobile). Mo i Rana has an airport (Røssvoll, 10 km north), the Nordland Line railway (Trondheim–Bodø) and the E6.
Rest day
- Dry caving: Jordbrugrotta, 3.5 km upstream in Plurdalen, is a wild cave with a lot of water — only with caving experience and the right gear.
News
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