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Certification required
Deep
Grotta dei gamberi
Italy · cave · advanced
27–44 madvancedDeepboat entry
Grotta dei gamberi
The cave under Punta Galera: an arch at about 40 m on sand, and a chamber whose walls appear to move because they are covered in shrimp.
Max depth27–44 m
Required leveladvanced
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Grotta dei Gamberi is the cave dive at Punta Galera, on the south-west side of Ustica. The descent starts at the point's single mooring buoy and follows the lava tongue that runs down from Punta Galera underwater, past a collapse of blocks, to the sand at its foot. The cave mouth opens there at about 40 m. Orca Diving Ustica measures the opening at just under 2 m high and about 6 m wide, giving onto a roughly circular chamber some 30 m across with about 10 m of headroom.
The shrimp give the cave its name. Plesionika narval, the parapandalo, hangs off the walls and the vault in dense clouds that shift away from a torch beam; Ustica Diving Center describes the walls and roof as seeming to move as you pass. The rock behind them is covered in sponges and other encrusting growth. Guides run the chamber keeping the wall on the left, through an elbow, over a sandy floor that rises as it goes, and out through a low broad tunnel at around 27 m before finishing the dive back up the Punta Galera slope. Evasioni Blu Diving and Ustica Diving both list lobsters, brown grouper and congers here; nudibranchs including Flabellina affinis and Cratena peregrina, cardinalfish, swallowtail seaperch and dusky grouper are all recorded around this pin.
This is a deep dive into an overhead environment and it is treated as one. The three Ustica operators consulted rate it medium-high to high difficulty; Evasioni Blu Diving publishes Tec 40 or a PADI/DAN deep qualification as its minimum. Profondo Blu Diving cites article 7 of the marine park regulation, under which entering any underwater cavity at Ustica requires a cavern-diver certification. Punta Galera lies in Zone C, on the southern side of the island, where recreational diving is allowed through centres accredited with the Area Marina Protetta; Zone A, on the north-west coast, is closed to scuba entirely.
- Cave arch at about 40 m on sand at the foot of the Punta Galera lava tongue
- Chamber roughly 30 m across with about 10 m of headroom
- Dense clouds of Plesionika narval shrimp on the walls and vault
- Exit through a low, wide tunnel at around 27 m
- Finish along the Punta Galera slope, one of the richer stretches of the island
Please note before you go
- Overhead environment: once inside the chamber and the exit tunnel there is no direct route to the surface
- Depth: the entrance sits at about 40 m, deep enough for narcosis to matter while navigating an overhead space
- Sandy floor inside the chamber that a badly trimmed fin will lift, taking the visibility with it
- No natural light beyond the arch; the dive depends entirely on lights
- Vertical descent and ascent on the Punta Galera slope from a single mooring buoy
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat from Ustica, to the mooring buoy off Punta Galera on the island's south-west side; Orca Diving Ustica describes the dive as starting just offshore of that single buoy. The descent follows the lava tongue running down from the point.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
Inside the Area Marina Protetta Isola di Ustica. Punta Galera is in Zone C, the partial reserve covering the southern side of the island, where recreational diving is permitted; Zone A on the north-west coast is closed to scuba except for authorised scientific work. Profondo Blu Diving, an AMP-accredited centre, states that article 7 of the park regulation requires a cavern-diver certification to enter any underwater cavity at Ustica.
Rules and permits
The AMP Isola di Ustica was established by ministerial decree on 12 November 1986 and is Italy's oldest marine protected area. Spearfishing is banned throughout it, and recreational diving in the open zones runs through centres accredited with the managing authority.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentnot sourced
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range27–44 m
Environmentcave
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
A boat dive from a single mooring buoy off Punta Galera, descending the lava tongue to sand. Inside the cave there is no ambient light and the floor is fine sand. Ustica's dive centres run the site through the warm-weather season.
On current: Operator figures for the cave mouth run from 38-40 m (Evasioni Blu Diving) to 40 m (Ustica Diving Center, Orca Diving Ustica), with Orca giving 44 m as the deepest point of the dive; the deeper figure is used here. The exit tunnel is quoted at about 27 m. None of the operator descriptions read for this page fixes a current on the site, and no source gives a visibility figure, so both are left unset rather than guessed.
Questions & answers
How deep is Grotta dei Gamberi at Ustica?
The cave mouth sits on sand at about 40 m at the foot of the Punta Galera lava tongue; Evasioni Blu Diving gives 38-40 m and Orca Diving Ustica puts the deepest point of the dive at 44 m. Inside, the floor rises and the exit tunnel is at roughly 27 m, after which the dive finishes on the shallower Punta Galera slope. Plan it as a dive beyond 40 m, not as a 27 m one.
What certification do I need for Grotta dei Gamberi?
Two things stack here. Profondo Blu Diving cites article 7 of the Ustica marine park regulation, under which you must hold a cavern-diver certification to enter any underwater cavity at Ustica. On top of that the depth needs a deep qualification: Evasioni Blu Diving publishes Tec 40 or a PADI/DAN deep certification as its minimum for this dive.
How do you get to Grotta dei Gamberi?
By boat with an Ustica dive centre, to the single mooring buoy off Punta Galera on the island's south-west coast. Orca Diving Ustica describes the dive as starting just offshore of that buoy, following the lava tongue down to the sand where the cave opens. There is no shore access to this site.
Is Punta Galera the same dive as Grotta dei Gamberi?
In practice yes: the operators that run it describe one route that descends the Punta Galera lava tongue, penetrates the cave and comes back up the point's slope, which is why some catalogues list it as a compound name. Blue Diving Ustica does list a separate, much shallower cave nearby called Grotta dei Gamberi II, with an entrance at about 23 m, so check which of the two a centre means when you book.
What will I see in the Grotta dei Gamberi?
The cave is named for Plesionika narval, the parapandalo shrimp, which covers the walls and vault in clouds that scatter as your light crosses them. Operators also report lobsters, congers and brown grouper here, and sponges coat the rock. On the slope outside, records around this point include dusky and golden grouper, cardinalfish, swallowtail seaperch, nudibranchs such as Flabellina affinis and Cratena peregrina, and Mediterranean parrotfish.
Do I need a permit to dive at Ustica?
Diving at Ustica runs through dive centres accredited with the Area Marina Protetta Isola di Ustica, which is where the permission sits in practice. Zone A on the island's north-west coast is closed to scuba altogether; Punta Galera is in Zone C on the southern side, where recreational diving is allowed. Spearfishing is banned across the whole protected area.
Is Grotta dei Gamberi suitable for beginners?
No. It is a 40 m dive into an overhead environment with no ambient light and a silt-prone sandy floor, rated medium-high to high by the island's own centres. Ustica has plenty of shallower cave and wall dives; this one comes after the deep and cavern certifications, not before them.
Can you snorkel or freedive Grotta dei Gamberi?
No to both. The feature that gives the site its name is a cave arch roughly 40 m down, and everything worth seeing is inside an overhead environment at that depth. From the surface Punta Galera is an exposed rocky point with no beach and no shore entry.
Life recorded at Grotta dei gamberi
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISSerranus scribacommon · 118 records
Coris juliscommon · 114 records
Thalassoma pavocommon · 113 records
Sarpa salpacommon · 113 records
Epinephelus marginatuscommon · 69 records
Ophidiaster ophidianusoccasional · 31 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Serranus scriba | common | 118 |
| Coris julis | common | 114 |
| Thalassoma pavo | common | 113 |
| Sarpa salpa | common | 113 |
| Epinephelus marginatus | common | 69 |
| Ophidiaster ophidianus | occasional | 31 |
| Serranus cabrilla | occasional | 23 |
| Paracentrotus lividus | occasional | 18 |
| Pinna nobilis | occasional | 15 |
| Sparisoma cretense | occasional | 14 |
| Diplodus vulgaris | occasional | 12 |
| Pelagia noctiluca | occasional | 12 |
| Chromis chromis | occasional | 11 |
| Flabellina affinis | occasional | 11 |
| Cratena peregrina | occasional | 9 |
| Dardanus calidus | occasional | 8 |
| Sphyraena viridensis | occasional | 8 |
| Scorpaena maderensis | occasional | 8 |
| Holothuria (Platyperona) sanctori | occasional | 6 |
| Luria lurida | occasional | 6 |
| Apogon imberbis | occasional | 6 |
| Plesionika narval | occasional | 5 |
| Marthasterias glacialis | occasional | 5 |
| Arbacia lixula | occasional | 5 |
| Centrostephanus longispinus | occasional | 5 |
| Caranx crysos | occasional | 5 |
| Epinephelus costae | occasional | 5 |
| Boops boops | occasional | 5 |
| Arca noae | occasional | 5 |
| Hexaplex trunculus | occasional | 5 |
| Oblada melanurus | occasional | 5 |
| Anthias anthias | rare | 4 |
| Mycteroperca rubra | rare | 4 |
| Diplodus puntazzo | rare | 4 |
| Tripterygion delaisi | rare | 4 |
| Chondrosia reniformis | rare | 4 |
| Monoplex parthenopeus | rare | 4 |
| Hacelia attenuata | rare | 3 |
| Stylocidaris affinis | rare | 3 |
| Sphaerechinus granularis | rare | 3 |
| Seriola dumerili | rare | 3 |
| Spicara maena | rare | 3 |
| Diplodus annularis | rare | 3 |
| Tripterygion melanurus | rare | 3 |
| Phorbas tenacior | rare | 3 |
| Cotylorhiza tuberculata | rare | 3 |
| Bittium reticulatum | rare | 3 |
| Peltodoris atromaculata | rare | 3 |
| Felimare picta | rare | 3 |
| Rhyssoplax olivacea | rare | 3 |
| Phallusia fumigata | rare | 2 |
| Pagurus anachoretus | rare | 2 |
| Dromia personata | rare | 2 |
| Maja crispata | rare | 2 |
| Palinurus elephas | rare | 2 |
| Scyllarides latus | rare | 2 |
| Velella velella | rare | 2 |
| Echinus melo | rare | 2 |
| Muraena helena | rare | 2 |
| Belone belone | rare | 2 |
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