Excursions departing from Santa Maria di Leuca in Salento

A picturesque peninsula at the southern end of the Salento region, where the land of the ‘two seas’ is rich in history, culture and lush nature invites those seeking to experience and discover its many natural wonders and throbbing masterpieces.

In Santa Maria di Leuca, the coast is high and rocky, the cliffs and the sea are beautiful but not easily accessible.

THE SEA CAVES OF SANTA MARIA DI LEUCA

The coastline forms many beautiful caves in the surroundings (which can be visited from the sea with guided excursions or by boat hire); just outside the pier, under the lighthouse square, are the two caves (communicating with each other and with a cavity further inland) of Cazzafra, which can also be reached by swimming. Beyond Punta Ristola, on the Adriatic coast then, there are the beautiful Grotte del Diavolo (Devil’s Caves), Grotte del Fiume (River Caves), Grotte Treporte (Treporte Caves), Grotte Giganti (Giants Caves) and Grotte della Stalla (Stalls Caves); further away, near Torre Marchiello, there is the large cave known as Grotta del Drago (from the shape of a rock to the left of the entrance): you will land in a large cavity, with a rock with a large stalagmite in the centre. 

For those who go there, it is essential not to miss the attractive panorama and the high, jagged coastline, where the sea laps against the thousands of cavities hidden in the rock, where bays and fjords offer shelter to boats.