Cave Amphitrite

Marine Karst Cave

Max Depth: 52m | Average Temp: 16°C

57 km of golden sand beaches or rocky sculpted coastline embrace Antiparos, a small island in the Aegean Sea.

The underwater cave of Amfitriti is a well-hidden secret between Paros and Antiparos in the Pantheronissia, a small cluster of islets and rocky islets that make up the “Caribbean” of the Aegean. There is no historical information about this cave’s formation, the age, or conditions submerged.

In the decade of 2000, the Ephorate of Paleoanthropology – Speleology with Dr. Geologist Vassilis Giannopoulos and archaeologist Christos Agouridis performed a series of dives in this cave, where he didn’t find any traces of human presence during its geological evolution. Therefore there was no further interest in the service.

The cave came to light again in June 2011, when the cave diving and technical diving instructor George Vandoros, together with the Italian cave diver Sara Gorretta draw the two main routes of the cave and seven branches by placing a guideline.

Very close to the coast and at a depth of 7m. the diver encounters a small opening, through which he will pass almost in an embryonic position to the interior of the cave. There he will find himself in a spacious vestibule, which does not foreshadow what he will encounter.

The slope of the ground begins to become abruptly downhill, where through a short, narrow passage, the diver reaches the 13m depth through a window, which reveals the vast cave. A vertical wall reaches 23m depth, and a series of stalagmites that form an imaginary triangle has become the ideal starting point for exploring the cave.

From this point, there are two main routes, a diver can follow. The first has a steep downhill slope that leads you to an imposing room at a maximum depth of 52m with a height that exceeds 40m and most characteristic of all, the bones of a turtle, which are located at the deepest point of the cave. The second route starts at 23m, where the diver moves for a long time in space in a ravine of incomparable natural beauty until you meet the second and shallowest level of the cave. Through four impressive parts and separate rooms, this leads to the shallow part of 13m coming out of the cave window.

It is a unique cave in which the cave diver will have the chance to enjoy a unique environment with endless rows of speleothems at various levels of depth, which they had formed thousands of years before the cave sank below sea level.

The impressive decoration in various sizes, shapes, and colors very strongly reminds the “visitor” of images from typical caves of the Caribbean and Mexico. The cave is enormous, with its roof covered with stalactite material. Impressive curtains and columns with over 15m height complete its unique image.

Two of the most essential and unique features of this cave are the valleys and cliffs of “white snow,” the deposition of limestone sediment over the millennia, and the dark coating of the cave themes throughout the cave.

The feeling that the diver moves under black stalactites while hovering over a white “alpine” landscape shocking! Worthily, it is a unique monument of underwater natural heritage that excites even the most demanding cave diver.

Τop2Bottom Diving team, after the mission carried out in 2016, we completed in 2017 the documentary film AMPHITRITE. During the filming, we collected stalactite fragments, which were sent for further analysis to Dr. Markos Vaxevanopoulos of the University of Thessaly, with whom we collaborated well during the project.