Elephant Cave

Elephant Cave is an extraordinary submerged cave off Cape Drepano, outside Souda Bay. Discovered in 1999, it became internationally significant after exploration revealed fossilised bones belonging to elephants, together with other palaeontological remains. The entrance begins approximately 10 metres below sea level and leads through an underwater passage into a large chamber containing spectacular stalactites and stalagmites. Because the cave is submerged, it is not a conventional sightseeing cave and can only be experienced by appropriately qualified divers under suitable conditions. Its combination of underwater geology and palaeontology makes it one of the most unusual caves in western Crete.