Cathedral Cave

Cathedral Cave, also called the Blue Dome, is a cavern on the north coast of Gozo near Wied il-Għasri. The entrance, a giant archway, sits about 5 metres below the surface and leads to a huge domed air pocket where you can surface, with the ceiling 15 metres above the water. A crack lets in air and enough natural light that no torch is needed, and sunlight is strongest in the afternoon. The acoustics are remarkable.

There are two entry points, either down a long set of steps in the Għasri valley or by a ladder slightly to the east, which is more common in summer. Either way there is a swim of 15 to 25 minutes along the left wall to the cave. Depths on the wall reach around 60 metres. Inside, the bottom is covered in large boulders, and the cave gets shallower toward the back, where a shelf sits at 6 metres.

In the shallows, morays and octopus sit in the cracks, and cuttlefish and octopus are common in the valley. Blue runner jacks, amberjack and grouper often hunt along the deeper water of the wall. The site is open to all levels.