Grotte d’Easo

Useful Information

Location:	Easo, Lifou island. (-20.7795100, 167.1291497)
Open:	All year Mon-Fri 9-16. [2026]
Fee:	Adults AUD 10, Children (0-12) AUD 5. [2026]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte d’Easo
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

1980	cave discovered by a French explorer.

Description

Grotte d’Easo (Easo Cave) is named after the tiny village or hamlet where it is located. Following the road to the Church Notre-Dame de Lourdes on the peninsula, there is a sign at the road advertising "Cave and Swimming Pool". Many people arrive by boat, and it’s only a 15-minute walk from the Lifou Pier cruise terminal. The cave is actually not developed as a show cave like in Europe, it’s at the border to a semi wild cave. There is a trail with stone stairs and a railing leading down to the cave entrance, the passage is rugged, high and somtimes a little narrow, leading down to an underground. Good walking shoes are highly recommended. The guide shows the visitors to the cave, but actually there is no cave tour and no explanations at all. The basic feature of this cave tour is the underground swimming. Its unclear if the water is sweet water or brackish, it seems the reviewers did not care. An educated guess would be that the cave is quite close to the sea and the groundwater flows actually to the sea. Also, the cave is quite deep, so it is likely that the descent is about the same as the ascent to the cave entrance. In other words, slowly flowing groundwater mixes with seawater, the water is brackish, and this is actually an important fact for the processes forming the cave.

The cave is sometimes called Grotte Secrete (Secret Grotto), we do actually not know if this is a second name, or just a nickname given by tourists. The cave is not secret, its actual the cave which is closest to a real show cave on the islands. And due to the nearby cruise terminal it may be even crowded. So if you arrive on a full cruise ship, go to the cave immediately, while the other guests are still trying to find their bearings

The official discovery of the cave was quite recent, in the 1980s. There are legends that it was known to the natives who used it as a hideout.