Salento
Grotta dell'Ora
- Max depth22 m
- CertificationIntro to cave
- Water temperature≈ 14–26 °C, varies with the seasonestimated, no reports yet
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Fills nearby
- Costa del Sud Diving ServiceAir, nitrox, trimix, oxygen, argon
- Scuba Diving OtrantoAir; ask about nitrox and trimix
The dive
You swim into the cave through a wide entrance at -22 m. Just inside you look up at an opening of about 3 m to the surface above, which makes fine light effects; then comes a second, dark chamber.
Profile and sections
You swim into the cave through a wide entrance at -22 m. Just inside you look up at an opening of about 3 m to the surface above, which makes fine light effects; then comes a second, dark chamber. Inside you see tube anemones (Cerianthus) in every colour and a conger eel that lives there. Back to the boat you follow a wall full of life.
According to the dive centre a legendary sea serpent lived here.
Practical: Scuba Diving Otranto calls the cave simple and, thanks to its width and height, doable with little experience. Because the second chamber is dark, we go by an intro-to-cave card.
- Depth and profile
- Entrance -22 m, wide · skylight of ~3 m in the ceiling just inside · then a second, dark chamber · back along a wall to -5 m · length not published
- Configuration
- All configurations; wide, high cave
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable (estimate)
- Short cave; no gain
Who can dive where
- At least Intro to cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 22 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
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 with Scuba Diving Otranto; the exact spot is not published.
Around Grotta dell'Ora
Fills2 fill stations · nearest 0 km
Costa del Sud Diving Service
Lungomare Santa Caterina 6, 73050 Santa Caterina di Nardò (LE)
Air, nitrox, trimix, oxygen, argon
Daily 7:30–20:30 according to its SSI listing; ask outside the summer season
SSI Instructor Training Center with rebreather and XR training; rents drysuits and scooters among other gear; boat and shore dives. Dives the Porto Selvaggio and Santa Caterina caves and reports being authorised for the AMP Porto Cesareo and the Porto Selvaggio park. Fills for visitors and sofnolime: ask.
Scuba Diving Otranto
Via del Porto 1, 73028 Otranto (LE)
Air; ask about nitrox and trimix
Open all year according to a listing; ask
SSI centre at the harbour with daily day and night dives from three RIBs (2× 7.4 m, 1× 10 m); technical training incl. trimix and rebreather. Lists caves among its dive sites — ask which.
Drive times from Santa Maria al Bagno (Nardò): we don't know this site's exact spot.
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