Blue Grotto (Kastelorizo)
The Blue Grotto (also Parastas Grotto , and since it was once frequently visited by Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus), also called Phokiali ( Greek Φώκιαλη ), (seal refuge)) is a well-known sight on the approximately 125 km east from Rhodes in the Dodecanese , the Greek island of Kastelorizo .
The grotto is located on the southeast coast of the island. It consists of two interconnected halls and is around 75 m long, 25–30 m wide and 25–35 m high, making it larger than the famous Blue Grotto on the Italian island of Capri . It was formed by karst washings during the Pleistocene and is rich in stalactites .
The only 1 m high entrance from the sea allows only small boats and only when the sea is calm. The sunlight reflected by the water bathes the interior of the cave in a brilliant azure blue color. The best time of day to visit is in the morning when the sun is in the east and south. Boats take visitors from the island's port of Mandraki to the grotto, where you can swim and dive.
In the second chamber there is a gravel bed that monk seals like to use as a resting place.
Web links
- Kastelorizo, the remotest island of Greece
- https://www.mysteriousgreece.com/travel-guides/islands/dodecanese/kastelorizo/
- http://www.greece-is.com/5-reasons-visit-kastellorizo/
literature
- Luigi Vittorio Bertarelli : Guida d'Italia del Touring Club Italiano, Volume XVII, Touring Club Italiano, Milan, 1929
Coordinates: 36 ° 7 ′ 33 ″ N , 29 ° 34 ′ 44 ″ E