Katedrala, approach from shallows

Premuda is the westernmost island in the Zadar archipelago and is situated southwest of Silba and northwest of Škarda. Its waters conceal an exceptionally beautiful cave, in fact, a complex of small caves, called Katedrala, which received its name due to its huge cupola-shaped hall with a porous ceiling. Light penetrating the cave from various openings lends the sea a turquoise hue.

Diving tips

The site is reached by boat and marked by an anchoring buoy above a plateau at 6 m. The dive starts from the buoy, down to the plateau and then on to one of the openings to the cave. This approach is slow and drops to a depth of 30 m and the larger hall which contains an opening on the right wall (18m). Following the right side of the hall, 20 m along there is a narrow tunnel named ‘The Chimney’ leading back to the plateau which is wide enough for only one diver. For more advanced and adventurous divers, there is a tunnel running to a depth of 16 m next to the main cave entrance at a depth of 50 m.

Marine life

On the plateau there are spider crabs, octopi, rainbow wrasse, while the cave abounds in sponges, corals and polychaeta. Mullet, white two-banded and sheepshead bream, and the occasional school of greater amberjack inhabit the sandy seabed.