Σπήλαιο Άγιων Θεοδωρων

Cave of Agios Theodoros

Useful Information

Location:	Sami 280 80. ΕΠ26 Sami-Agia Evfimia, 300 m from Sami turn left on road to Πουλάτα (Poulata) 1.3 km, turn right on single lane gravel road, 500 m. (38.2468414, 20.6265990)
Open:	no restrictions. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Collapse Doline Karst Cave Kefalonia-Ithaca UNESCO Global Geopark
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=125 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Kefalonia-Ithaca Geopark, outavos environmental center, P.B. 222 28100, Argostoli, Kefalonia, Tel: +30-2671029258. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2018	Chiridoni – Sotira cave explored and filmed by Grafas Diving team and Makis Sotiropoulos of the Aquatic dive center.

Description

Σπήλαιο Άγιων Θεοδωρων (Cave of Agios Theodoros) is sometimes called a cave, and sometimes a sinkhole. Actually it is both, it is a cave with access to the groundwater and the cave collapsed so the natural entrance is a collapse doline or sinkhole and the groundwater is visibly at the bottom. It looks a little like a cenote in Mexico. This site is actually a series of three dolines, most likely three collapses of the same cave system. So this page is about all three dolines which you can visit on a 5-minute hike.

The Agioi Theodoroi Cave is the most western site. The entrance is a doline, a traditional collapse doline with vertical walls. It is elliptical and 30 m long, 18 m wide, and 20 m deep. A trail leads further down the slope of debris from the collapse of the ceiling, which is partly covered with small trees, until finally, a lake is reached. The doline is the collapse of the cave ceiling of a cave passage. The lake is obviously groundwater, which moves, but slowly. The passage has a total length of 125 m and is 88 m deep, but only the upper part is accessible. At a depth of 60 m the lake is reached, the lower part is water-filled.

This cave is the only one which actually has its own page on the geopark website, which is obviously because there is actually a trail into the cave so it may be entered. But this cave is only a small part of the karst system around Sami. An there are three more which can be visited but only from the outlook at the rim. If you walk east on the road, it makes a curve to the south, straight ahead is a shallow depression, only 30 m away. This huge depression is 160 m long and 140 m wide, elliptical, and only 20 m deep. And that is the reason why the road has to take such a diversion. It's obviously another part of the cave system, but it's hard to determine if this was a collapse or if this is actually a solutional doline.

After following the road along the rim of this huge doline for 175 m there is a turnoff to the left and another geosite. This is again an obvious collapse doline with vertical walls, even bigger than Agioi Theodoroi Cave, with a length of 60 m and a width 35 m. Again it is called a cave, its name is Σπήλαιο Χιριδόνι (Chiridoni Cave). There is an educational sign, it is geosite 31 of the geopark, and there is a trail to the rim offering a great view. The doline is only accessible to cavers with climbing gear. But there is another entrance to the cave which is named Σπήλαιο Σωτήρα (Soritas Cave). 300 m south on the road, a trail startes on the left side, about 160 m through the forest to the cave entrance. Again, the entrance is quite spectacular, but the actual exploration is only for cavers. Soon after the entrance, the passage drops 25 m, so be careful. This entrance has a passage on both sides, on one side its 50 m long, on the other it is 300 m long to the bottom of Chiridoni Cave. The two sides are listed as Σπήλαιο Χιριδόνι-Σωτήρα (Chiridoni-Sotira Cave) by the geopark. This entrance is actually on private property, which is probably the reason why it is not marked as a geosite.

These dolines are located in the outskirts of Sami and Karavomilos, so actually this area is a suburb Greek type. The roads are gravel roads, some are almost wide enough for two lanes, the others are single lane, and every 50 or 100 m there is a house. These are not farms, these are normal houses, it seems they just prefer to have some distance to the neighbour. And some of them rent out rooms to tourists or are private guesthouses. This also means that all the roads are public roads and its legal to drive to the sites. Just be careful where you park and do not block the road. The sites here were signposted by the geopark with small bright blue signs.

Two dolines and the cave entrance are Geosites No 29, 30, and 31 of the Geopark Kefalonia-Ithaca UNESCO Global Geopark.