These places really make a splash
Orda Cave in central Russia stretches for more than three miles making it both Russia's longest cave and the longest in the world made of the mineral gypsum. And it’s this mineral that accounts for much of the cave's intrigue: the white gypsum creates a dazzlingly light interior that resembles an underwater cathedral. It filters the water, creating remarkable visibility and the mineral shifts structurally over time meaning the cave gradually rearranges itself over the course of many years.
The Great Lakes are said to hold more than 6,000 shipwrecks, most of which have never been accessed by people. One of the most captivating though lies in the shallow waters of Ontario’s Lake Huron. Wonderfully preserved, the Sweepstakes is a 19th-century schooner that sank in 1885. Divers and snorkellers can explore the site, however those who don’t fancy getting wet won’t have to miss out: glass-bottomed boats drift over the site revealing the ship’s vast hulk resting hauntingly just below the water's surface.
For many of us a visit to the post office is one of life's more mundane tasks, right? Not so in Vanuatu, where the world’s first, and only, underwater post office lurks nine feet (2.8m) below the water’s surface just off the coastline in the Hideaway Island Marine Sanctuary. Visitors can snorkel or scuba dive down to the fibreglass postal booth and drop off a special waterproof postcard here, which can then be sent to anywhere in the world.
Set in shallow, calm waters just 131 feet (40m) from the northeastern coast of Bali, this wreck site has attracted both advanced divers and snorkellers over the years. Once a supply ship, the USAT Liberty was hit by a Japanese torpedo during the Second World War and ended up stranded on a beach, until in 1963 a volcanic eruption pushed it back into the sea. In the years since, marine life has reclaimed the ship transforming it into an underwater haven cloaked in corals that attract a dazzling variety of sea creatures.
Proving that some of the most incredible underwater experiences don’t have to be out at sea, Mexico’s Riviera Maya is riddled with a vast network of cenotes – striking sinkholes that plunge deep into the ground. Of these, Dos Ojos (or "Two Eyes", a reference to the cave's double entrance) is one of the most striking, a cavernous cenote between Playa del Carmen and Tulum. While it's usually possible to admire the fish and rock formations that fill the crystal-clear waters of Dos Ojos with snorkelling gear, scuba divers can go further and explore the dark tunnels that lead off from the main pool.
Stretching from Key Largo to Key West, the 120-mile-long Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail follows a series of notable wrecks from ancient Spanish galleons to more recent military ships. Highlights include the oldest wreck, the San Pedro, which once formed part of a 1733 Spanish treasure fleet. The latest vessel, the intentionally sunk USS Vandenberg, is a 524-foot-long (160m) missile tracker that boasts vast radar dishes.
Set 60 miles from the coast of Belize, surrounded by shallow turquoise waters and encircled by an atoll, this perfectly cylindrical sinkhole blinks from the depths like a vast, inky eye. A dazzling sight from above at 1,000 feet wide (304m) and more than 400 feet deep (122m), this is one of the world’s largest submarine sinkholes. It was made famous when the explorer Jacques Cousteau filmed it in the 1970s and today the Belize Barrier Reef, of which The Great Blue Hole is part, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Just off the coast of Aqaba on Jordan’s Red Sea coast is a surprising collection of military hardware. Tanks, a helicopter and a troop carrier have been sunk and arranged to mimic a battle formation. Lying 50 to 90 feet (15-28m) below the surface the museum opened in July 2019 and usually welcomes both divers and snorkellers. Much care was taken not to disturb marine life during the construction, with any hazardous material and chemicals removed.
Set just off Italy's western coast, near San Fruttuoso, this was the original underwater Jesus statue, a figure whose copies can now also be glimpsed in locations around the world. Now coral-encrusted, the statue – arms outstretched, face raised to the heavens – is eight feet tall (2.4m) and set 56 feet (17m) below the water. The sculpture was created by Guido Galletti and commissioned by Italian diver Duilio Marcante in 1954 to honour his friend and fellow diver Dario Gonzatti who died diving a few years prior.
Fast forward 14 years and Jason deCaires Taylor’s latest project is the Museum of Underwater Art (Moua) on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a two-hour boat ride from the Queensland coast. The project has been designed to highlight the danger the reef is in, with the sculptures made from special cement and stainless steel to encourage coral growth.
The first underwater park in the world, by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, this place set the wave of underwater galleries rolling when it opened in May 2006. It's anchored two miles from Grenada’s capital, in the Molinere Beauséjour Marine Protected Area. Here 75 sculptures of both human and still life form – including a ring of children holding hands and the contemplative “Lost Correspondent” sat with his typewriter – dot the sun-dappled seabed.
Dubai is famed for its ability to dream up the impossible, so it shouldn't really come as a surprise that it's home to one of the most unique places to stay in the world. The Palm’s five-star Atlantis hotel is renowned for its aquatic attractions – it has a water park and an aquarium – and adding to that watery roster are its underwater suites. Guests can wake up to a marine world of lurking sharks, kaleidoscopic schools of fish and swooping stingrays, all projected onto floor-to-ceiling windows.
One of South Australia's most striking freshwater diving sites isn’t just for those who don scuba gear. Thanks to the water-filtering limestone that encircles it, Piccaninnie Ponds boast a stunning visibility of up to 131 feet (40m) meaning that snorkellers get to see a lot here too. Starting as a shallow lake, the water gradually reaches The Chasm, where snorkellers can drift over the dramatic 115-foot (35m) sheer-walled, algae-coated canyon. Scuba divers can go on to explore the Cathedral, a spectacular underwater cavern surrounded by gleaming limestone walls.
In an area packed with dive sites, the mystery-shrouded Hilma Hooker is the most fascinating. Originally a cargo ship, it first sank in 1975 but was rescued and – so the story goes – became involved in drug smuggling. It's said it was later found carrying a hefty stash of hidden marijuana. The case went to trial but was never resolved and the ship sank during proceedings in 1984. Now in its final resting place, large tubular sponges have repopulated the hull of the 236-foot (72m) Dutch freighter and barracuda, parrotfish and angelfish are frequent visitors.
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