Sintzi Cave

Karst spring

Max Depth: 240m+ | Average Temperature: 10°C – 12°C

At the edge of an endorheic basin, at an altitude of 700 meters and 5 kilometers from the town of Kandila in Arcadia, amidst the Arcadian mountains, the water of the Sintzi spring emerges.

The cave is a karst spring that discharges water from higher aquifers into the local limestone formations. This specific cave has formed in carbonate rocks, specifically within the limestones of the Internal Hellenides. The primary mechanism of its formation is the dissolution capacity of rainwater enriched with carbon dioxide. The groundwater progressively dissolves the limestone, primarily along tectonic fractures. The result is the unique morphology of the cave, with sharply sculpted surfaces and vast, labyrinthine passages. The water from the spring is fresh, and its temperature remains consistently between 10 and 12 degrees Celsius year-round.

The cave was first discovered in 1996 by a small group of speleologists and cave divers from the Hellenic Speleological Society (SP.EL.E.O.), initiating the gradual recording and mapping of the cave, which now spans 1,500 meters of explored passages.

Sintzi is considered the deepest flooded cave in Greece.

In 2009, George Tzavelas conducted the first major expedition, reaching an impressive depth of 153 meters. This was followed by the 2015 expedition led by Fountas Pitsinellis, who reached a depth of 186 meters and confirmed that the cave extends even deeper.

In May 2024, Polish diver Bartlomiej Pitala reached a depth of 240 meters, confirming that the cave is even deeper, placing it among the deepest caves in the world.

Research – Text editing: Andreas Andrikopoulos