The cave where Odysseus is said to have spent seven years with the nymph Calypso
Locals call it 'Jama' — the Pit — because it is not a cave in the conventional sense. The limestone ceiling collapsed at some point in the distant past, leaving a roughly oval chamber open to the sky, with sheer rock walls rising on every side and a floor of seawater. That seawater is connected to the open Adriatic by a tunnel roughly twenty metres long and eight to ten metres deep, cut through the base of the cliff. It is wide enough for a small boat to pass through, which is why the people of Babino Polje — the largest village on Mljet, a short steep path above — have been using the chamber as a sheltered harbour for their fishing boats for generations. The sight of a working wooden boat moored at the bottom of a pit you have just swum into, with nets drying on ledges and nothing but sky overhead, is not easily forgotten.
The legend attached to this place is older than the village. According to local tradition — held for long enough that the island's national park authority takes it seriously — Mljet is the Ogygia of Homer's Odyssey. Before the cave entrance lies a rock called Ogiran, which disappears beneath the surface at high tide and during strong southerly winds. The story goes that a returning Odysseus struck this rock in a storm, swam to shore, and took shelter in the chamber below. The nymph Calypso, whose domain this was, kept him there for seven years before the gods intervened. Malta also claims the title of Ogygia, but the physical case for Mljet is harder to dismiss: Homer describes olive groves and vineyards growing down to the water beside the shipwreck site, and Babino Polje has exactly that, in exactly that arrangement, directly above the cave.
The way in from the sea is to let the boat idle into the tunnel and emerge on the other side into the open chamber. For most of the day the interior sits in shadow — the walls are high enough to block direct sunlight from all but a narrow overhead window. Around noon in summer, when the sun is directly above, light reaches the water and the surface shifts through a range of blue and green that is distinct from the shadowy calm of the rest of the day. Snorkelling here feels genuinely remote: the cave is on a part of the island that most tourists never reach, the walls absorb sound, and the working boats moored in the corner are a reminder that this place belongs to Babino Polje first and to visitors second.
The boat idles into the tunnel at the base of the cliff and emerges inside the chamber. The transition takes only a few seconds, but the shift from open sea to enclosed, sky-roofed pit is immediate. It is unlike any other cave approach on the Adriatic.
The water inside is calm regardless of sea conditions outside, with visibility down through eight to ten metres of clear water to the limestone floor. The cave walls are close enough that a slow backstroke across the chamber gives you the full 360-degree view of the rock face rising to the sky.
Babino Polje's fishing boats have been sheltered here for generations — moored at the base of the cliff, nets hung on ledges, accessed via a steep path from the village above. Seeing a working boat at the bottom of a collapsed cave is an unexpectedly grounding sight.
Odysseus is said to have been held here by the nymph Calypso for seven years, on an island Homer called Ogygia. The olive groves and vineyards described in the Odyssey as growing beside the shipwreck site are still there, on the hillside directly above the cave.
Because the limestone roof collapsed, leaving the chamber open to the sky. What you see looking down from the cliff path above is a hole in the ground filled with seawater, which is why locals call it Jama — the Pit. It is technically a collapsed sea cave, connected to the open Adriatic by an underwater tunnel rather than an arched entrance.
It is a serious and long-standing local claim. Homer describes Ogygia as an island with olive groves and vineyards growing down to the water, and Babino Polje fits that description precisely. Malta is the other main contender, but without the same landscape match. No one can prove it conclusively, but Mljet's case is the more specific of the two.
Yes — the tunnel at the base of the cliff is wide enough for a small speedboat to pass through. We idle in slowly, emerge into the chamber, and anchor inside. Guests can then swim, snorkel or simply take in the surroundings from the water.
Far less crowded than the Koločep Blue Cave. Odysseus Cave sits on the south coast of Mljet, away from the main tourist circuits, and the approach by boat through a tunnel keeps casual visitors out. You are likely to have the chamber to yourselves, or share it with one or two other boats at most.
Private speedboat tours from Dubrovnik that include a stop at Odysseus Cave.
