Cave diving · Europe
Cave diving in Spain
Spain's best-documented cave dives fall into two groups. On Mallorca, coastal limestone hosts anchialine caves (flooded caves with layered fresh and salt water connected to the sea underground), including the Gleda–Camp des Pou system, one of the longest underwater caves on the island. On the mainland, karst resurgences such as the Pozo Azul in Burgos lead into long chains of sumps explored by Spanish and British expeditions.
How access works
Many Mallorcan caves lie on private land or in protected habitat, and research and exploration dives in the Gleda system have depended on permits from the Balearic government's environment department; these were refused for more than three years from late 2015. On the mainland, no published permit regime was found for the Pozo Azul in the sources consulted. A Portocolom provider that guides cave dives states that it must request a permit for every dive.
A general summary; each site page gives its own dated access information.
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Cave systems
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Entrances and dive sites
| Site | Cave system | Type | Access | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Pozo Azul (spring pool)Covanera | Pozo Azul | Spring | Access status not verified |
| Avenc des Camp des PouManacor | Sistema Gleda–Camp des Pou | Sinkhole | Restricted access | |
 |
Cova de sa Gleda (entrance)Manacor (Son Josep Nou) | Sistema Gleda–Camp des Pou | Cave entrance | Restricted access |
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Dive centres and guides
| Provider | Where | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Grupo Espeleológico Edelweiss | Burgos | 2026-10-14 |
| Mallorca Cave Diving (Adventure Sports Skualo Portocolom) | Portocolom (Felanitx) | 2026-10-14 |
| Societat Espeleològica Balear (SEB) | Palma | 2026-10-14 |
A listing is not an endorsement.
Every fact on this page, with its source (5)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The Gleda-Camp des Pou system has about 14,620 m of development, 13,720 m of it underwater, and is the second-longest cave in the Balearic Islands. | Verified | [1] |
| Permission to continue work in the Gleda cave was refused by the Conselleria at the end of 2015, halting work until 25 May 2019. | Verified | [1] |
| A TDI/SDI article states that most Mallorcan caves are not open to the public, some being on private land and others protected by environmental rules, with permits granted only for research, documentation or formal exploration. | Reported | [2] |
| Exploration in August 2015 raised the Pozo Azul's development to more than 13,700 m. | Verified | [3] |
| A Portocolom cave-diving provider states that a permit must be requested for every cave dive it guides on Mallorca. | Reported | [4] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction