Sicily
Grotte del Formaggio (Plemmirio, Siracusa)
- Max depth28 m
- CertificationIntro to cave
- Water temperature≈ 15–27 °C, varies with the seasonestimated, no reports yet
Diving and fills
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The dive
From a large boulder that rises to 3 m below the surface you swim into a tunnel whose ceiling is a palette of sponges, bryozoans and yellow sea anemones (Parazoanthus), with slipper lobsters and sea bream.
Profile and sections
From a large boulder that rises to 3 m below the surface you swim into a tunnel whose ceiling is a palette of sponges, bryozoans and yellow sea anemones (Parazoanthus), with slipper lobsters and sea bream. Along the wall and among scattered boulders you see shoals of sea bream, brown meagre and groupers. Above a narrow canyon the first cave opens, where sunlight falls through a hole in the vault. A short passage further lies the cave that gives the site its name: a chamber on the right, a deep, wide corridor on the left to a second entrance. Through the two entrances blue light falls on countless white sponges that seem to glow by themselves, and at the back brown meagre shelter under a boulder. On the way back to the buoy you see salema, saddled bream, parrotfish and, with luck, amberjack and leerfish.
Practical: the sources differ on the level. The AMP and the dive centre call the route suitable for all divers (difficulty low, medium with current); the AMP's rules (2026) allow cave dives only with a cave certification ('cave' or equivalent). We assume a cave card.
- Depth and profile
- Route max -20 m (green) or -28 m (red). Tunnel from -9/-10 to -18/-19 m; the first cave runs ~20 m into the rock; the second has two entrances in an L, with a boulder at -10/-12 m. Off the wall the bottom drops beyond -30 m, with boulders down to -35 m.
- Configuration
- Large caves without branches, with a rocky floor (AMP): backmount or sidemount.
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable
- Underwater scooters are banned in the AMP (except with a permit for divers with a disability).
Who can dive where
- At least Intro to cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 28 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 an AMP-authorised centre from Siracusa (e.g. Capo Murro Diving Center, in Ognina harbour); moor on the AMP buoy and swim a few metres north to the cliff. Zone A of the Plemmirio AMP: guided only, and only once the AMP has told the centres the buoys are in place (2026 rules).
Around Grotte del Formaggio (Plemmirio, Siracusa)
FillsNo fill station known nearby
Other sites1 within 1 km
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