Cave diving in Rana

• 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'); one undated source mentions 500 NOK per day for infrastructure and parking. Plura Valley rules: no solo diving, certification matching the dive, 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 guidelines: 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 NGDF. • 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. • 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 and winter is peak season; the pool then freezes (a hole is cut). Night frost as early as August. Drysuit with heating. • 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. • Gas: Plura Valley fills air, nitrox (continuous blending) and O₂; trimix according to a 2024 report — ask. In Mo i Rana the club Rana Sportsdykkere has a compressor (air; ask about visitor fills). Bodø Sportsdykkerklubb (~3 h drive) lists air, nitrox and trimix (club — ask). • Emergency: 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. • Dry caving: Jordbrugrotta, 3.5 km upstream in Plurdalen, is a wild cave with a lot of water (a rubber boat is needed in places) — only with caving experience and the right gear.