The caves and overhangs beneath Alanya Castle

How the caves were made

The castle stands on a great limestone headland, and limestone dissolves. Rain and groundwater hollow it from within over hundreds of thousands of years while storms hammer it from without, and the shoreline ends up pocked with cave mouths, collapsed hollows, arches and deep overhangs — some open at the surface, others entirely below it. The show caves you can visit in town are the half above the waterline.

What beginners see

On a beginner dive the caves are part of the scenery, from the outside: you hover in front of a dark opening in open water, let your eyes adjust and watch how light and fish traffic play around the entrance. Cave mouths and daylight-lit entrance chambers are seen; nothing beyond them. That line is drawn in the same place on every trip.

What certified divers dive

Certified divers follow the walls and overhangs where the rock leans out above them with open water behind and above, and use the swim-throughs — short passages open at both ends — where their training and the guide's plan allow. Depth here is set by qualification, around 30 m on standard dives.

Penetration: the honest line

Passing beyond the daylight zone into passages where rock closes over your head is an overhead environment. It demands specific training, equipment and planning, and it is never part of a beginner dive or a standard certified dive — not with us, not with any honest operator. If cave-flavoured diving is exactly what you came for and your training supports it, talk to the team before the day.

The monk seal

Ask a local about the sea caves and the Mediterranean monk seal comes up. One of the rarest marine mammals on earth, it retreated over centuries into exactly the kind of hidden sea cave this coast provides. You should not expect to see one; sightings are extremely rare and the animals avoid people. If a cave shows signs of seal use, divers stay out. Knowing the story makes the dive richer; expecting the animal would make it a disappointment.

Dive this terrain on the certified experience, or see it from open water on the beginner dive.