Modra Špilja

Skuja na Zanje - Blue Grotto - Blue Cave


Useful Information

Location: Island Biševo, 5 km south-west of Vis, Dalmatia.
(42.9802120, 16.0221078)
Open: On windless days 8-18.
[2022]
Fee: Adults HRK 20.
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave Speleologysea cave ExplainBlue Grotto
Light: sunlight - you guessed it!
Dimension: L=24 m, W=12, H=15 m, D=16 m, A=0 m asl.
Guided tours: boat tour
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography: Juško Božanić (2016): The Azure Sun: The Blue Grotto on the Island of Biševo Komiža: Ars Halieutica, 2016.
Address: Turistička agencija Blue Cave, Trg kralja Tomislava 10, 21485 Komiža, Tel: +385-91-520-3790, Tel: +385-21-713-752. E-mail:
Turistička agencija "Komiža", Riva Sv. Mikule 2, 21485 Komiža, Tel: +385-21-713-137, Fax: +385-21-713-137.
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

1884 artificial entrance into the cave built.
2019 Vis Archipelago Geopark becomes full member of the European Geoparks Network.

Description

photography
Oil painting of the Blue Cave of Biševo by Eugen von Ransonnet-Villez (*1838-✝1926), 1890. Public Domain.

The Island Biševo is made up of limestone, which is riddled with caves. 26 sea caves are known along the coast of the island, which may all be visited by boat. But the most well known cave is Modra Špilja, the Blue Grotto. It is called Skuja na Zanje in the local dialect. However, modern tour operators tend to call it Blue Cave of Bisevo.

This blue grotto has a natural entrance below the sea level. The only way to enter the cave was originally by diving. But more than a century ago an artificial tunnel was built to allow visitors to enter the cave by boat. This entrance was inaugurated by Baron Eugen von Ransonnet-Villez (*1838-✝1926) in 1884. But the size of this tunnel is restricted, six-person flat boats are the largest vessels able to fit through the entrance. Visitors have to duck or lie down in the boat because of the low ceiling. The cave is dark except for the sunlight shining through the natural entrance, a deep blue glow coming from below. A swim in the blue water seems to be an optional part of the cave visit.

The location of the cave and the natural entrance make the time between 11 and 12 ideal for a visit. This is the time when the light inside the cave is best. The earlier or later during the day, the less light inside the cave. Early in the morning, and after the sun hits the sea in front of the cave, a visit is absolutely pointless.

The cave has only a single small chamber. Around noon when many visitors arrive it may get rather crowded. The seawater in the main chamber is 16 m deep. There is a sort of rock arch or natural bridge underwater, 6 m below the surface, which divides the chamber into two parts.

The island Biševo is very small, most visitors are actually on the nearby island Vis, so many boat tours start from Komiža on Vis. The trips go to the island Biševo and surround it. They typically also visit a second cave, Zelena Špilja (Green Cave), which is on the south coast. Many pictures on the web credited to Modra Špilja actually show Zelena Špilja. Probably the authors mixed them up after a holiday of numerous impressions.