Biševo - The home of the Blue Cave

Biševo – a getaway place for many and a home for a few

Settled in the middle of the Dalmatian archipelago, Biševo has been a pearl of the Adriatic Sea for many years. The laws of nature separated 5.8 square kilometers of the magical land and pushed it for five nautical miles southwest from Vis. From then and up to this point, Biševo has been a getaway place for many and a home for a few. 

On an island like this, life is simple. Living in the most natural environment and living from it by selling fish, olive, and wine. For fifteen residents of Biševo, it’s like heaven on the Earth. If you stumble across one of them, get ready to hear interesting stories and learn something new about the ways of living under the bright blue sky of Biševo.

Did you know what does the name ‘Biševo’ stands for?

Biševo is certainly known for its natural phenomena – the hidden caves that can be discovered on the coast of the island. The name came from the Italian saying L’ísola dei busi, which means ‘the island of holes’.

The one and only – Blue Cave

One of the most popular attractions and sometimes the only sight that moves tourists to come to Biševo is the Blue Cave. It is also known as Blue Grotto or in Croatia as ‘Modra Špilja’ – which is an exact Croatian translation of the words ‘blue cave’. 

The cave was formed by the wave action of the sea and had one natural entrance below the sea level – you could only dive into the cave. But back in the year 1884, an artificial entrance was built, and Blue Cave was opened for admiration. It owes its attractive name to the reflection of the sunlight that around noon, during calm seas, penetrate through the underwater opening into the cave, reflecting off the white bottom and giving the cave an aquamarine color while objects in the water appear to be silver.

The Blue Cave is opened for visitors from May and is located in a small bay called Balun – which is translated as ‘the ball’ in the local Croatian language. 

The Medvidina Cave, also known as the Monk seal’s grotto

The longest cave in the Adriatic has settled down in the Trešnjevac bay in the southern part of Biševo. This 160 m deep cave is just below the highest peak of the island Straženice, and it narrows towards the bottom – where there is a small pebble beach called Malo Žalo. 

The beach Malo Žalo was once the habitat of the Mediterranean monk seal (the rarest species of seals), hence the name of the cave – The Monk seal’s grotto. 

Beautiful bays of Biševo

Stargazing the sky above Biševo

In today’s world, it’s a rare opportunity to be in a place where there is no light pollution. The residents of Biševo are among a few people that can enjoy one of the brightest night skies in Croatia. Even though the sky above is extremely dark, Biševo has not yet been declared an International Dark Sky Park – but they aim at astrotourism to be their one-of-a-kind attraction by doing everything to preserve this natural phenomenon.

Other things you can do on the island of Biševo

How to reach this magnificent island

With 26 caves to explore, the best way to reach Biševo is by boat or yacht. You can sail directly from Split, or you can explore the treasure of Vis and then head to Biševo island. Once you’re at Biševo, you can dock at Mezuporat and then transfer to the little boats going into the Blue Cave.

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