CAVERN DIVING

MATANZAS, CUBA

The Cavern Diving program from Varadero is aimed at two areas in the south of our province of Matanzas.

1. The Bolondron area, which is in the south-central part of the Carsica plain south of Havana – Matanzas, is located 85 km (1.5 hours by car) from Varadero and is where a good number of flooded cavities open up and their origins are related to the dissolution processes of the descending and phreatic waters. They are flooded by the area’s aquifer, this water being fresh and very crystalline in its entirety, presenting speleothems (Stalactites, Stalagmites, Curtains, Mantles and other formations) that were formed when these cave and cavern systems were drained, the temperature of these waters remains at 25oC (77oF) all year round, regardless of the outside temperature.
2. The strip that runs parallel to the east coast of the Bay of Pigs, known as the Ciénaga de Zapata Speleolacustre System, is located 150 km (2.5 hours by car) from Varadero and is where several flooded cavities open up, which owe their origin to telluric movements. A fundamental characteristic is that they are penetrated by sea water due to their relative proximity to it, which causes them to have Thermoclines and Haloclines combined between them between 9 and 12 meters deep, where we can find 25oC between the surface and 10 meters (brackish water) and from there downwards 26, 27 and even 28oC (totally salt water). These caverns open up along a large crack or fracture that, when separated, were flooded by phreatomarine waters. They are quite deep, some reaching more than 60 meters, spectacular backlighting is a great attraction as well as the picturesque surroundings of these scenes.