Caving in the Madonie: deep caves, Park rules and safety

Caving in the Madonie revolves around two caves: the Abisso del Vento in Isnello, about 2 km of passages and more than 200 metres deep, and the Abisso del Gatto in Cefalù, 323 metres, which the CAI Sicilia leaflet describes as the deepest cave on the island. These are caves for experienced cavers, with entrances on private land. In the Parco delle Madonie it is forbidden to enter caves that are not signposted: you start with a Club Alpino Italiano course, never on your own.

This guide does not tell you how to reach the entrances or how to rig a shaft. It tells you what lies beneath the Madonie, who goes there and under what rules.

At a glance

• What: caves and shafts in limestone, shaped by karst. The Park authority speaks of numerous caves and caverns.
• The best known: Abisso del Vento (Isnello, zone A of the Park) and Abisso del Gatto (Cefalù, zone B).
• Who goes in: only experienced cavers, in groups, with the landowner’s permission.
• Park rule: entering natural caves is forbidden, except those signposted as places of interest and along the marked route.
• To start: an introductory course at a CAI caving school.
• Emergency: 112, which alerts the Alpine and Cave Rescue.

Why there are so many caves beneath the Madonie

The heart of the Madonie, around Pizzo Carbonara, is limestone, a rock that water slowly dissolves. On the surface you see it in the plateaus pitted with dolines and sinkholes, where rain disappears into the ground. Below, the same water has carved passages, shafts and chambers.

The website sentierisiciliani.it puts it in practical terms: on the high plateaus you find no fountains, because the water goes down and comes up somewhere else. Caves are the other half of that landscape: the gorges, caves and waterfalls of the Madonie seen from outside are in the guide Gorges, caves and waterfalls.

Many caves also have a human history. Near the entrance of the Abisso del Vento, in the 1970s, cavers found an Eneolithic burial. In Petralia Sottana the Grotta del Vecchiuzzo has yielded Neolithic and Eneolithic finds, from the 4th and 3rd millennia BC.

The Abisso del Vento in Isnello

The Abisso del Vento opens at the foot of Cozzo Balatelli, in the municipality of Isnello, inside zone A of the Park, the strictest protection zone.

Its name comes from a very strong draught that blows through the first squeeze near the entrance. Centuries ago C. Grisanti wrote that if you put your ear to the rock above the cave you could hear the sound of water: it was the wind.

The first explorations were made in 1972 by cavers from CAI Cefalù. Then groups came from Palermo, Catania, Ragusa and Versilia, and the cave became one of the most complex in Sicily.

What it is like, according to the leaflet produced by CAI Sicilia, the Park authority and the Comune of Isnello:

• several levels of passages and large chambers, connected by vertical shafts;
• a layout guided by fractures in the rock, with passages almost at right angles;
• no active stream today;
• white formations in the deep branches: stalactites, stalagmites, straws and flowstone;
• red earth deposits still being studied.

The leaflet gives about 2 km of passages and 220 metres of depth; news reports in 2018 say 213 metres. Both sources agree on one thing: only experienced cavers go in, and the entrance is on private land.

The 2018 accident

On 15 December 2018 a 42-year-old caver slipped about 100 metres down and broke her leg. She was with eight companions. Two stayed with her; the others climbed out to raise the alarm because there is no phone signal in the area.

Fifteen technicians from the National Alpine and Cave Rescue Corps, Palermo-Madonie station, arrived with two doctors, followed by reinforcements from the caving delegation in Catania: about thirty people. The stretcher recovery went on through the night.

It’s a good reminder. Even a large, experienced group in a well-known cave can need a whole night of rescue.

The Abisso del Gatto in Cefalù

The Abisso del Gatto opens on the western slope of Cozzo Carcarello, in the municipality of Cefalù, at 380 metres above sea level and in zone B of the Park.

It is an active sinkhole: today it only takes in water during prolonged rain. That is why people who go there watch the weather closely.

Data	Abisso del Vento	Abisso del Gatto
Municipality	Isnello	Cefalù
Park zone	A	B
Length	about 2 km	1,100 m
Depth	213-220 m	323 m
First explorations	1972, CAI Cefalù	1955, CAI Cefalù
Access	experienced cavers, private land	experienced cavers, private land

Source: leaflet from the CAI Sicilia and Parco delle Madonie project; for the depth of the Vento also LiveSicilia (2018).

The history of exploration is long. In 1955 cavers from CAI Cefalù descended the first 12-metre shaft and stopped for lack of equipment. Research resumed in the 1980s and in 1986, with CAI Palermo, the bottom was reached.

Inside, narrow passages on several levels are linked by shafts up to 60 metres deep, the deepest of which is called Pozzo Cefalù. In the upper parts the forms carved by flowing water dominate; in the deeper parts, the formations. The cave ends in a narrow passage where a small pool blocks further progress.

Can you visit a cave without being a caver?

In the Park’s municipalities we found no show caves with tickets and opening hours, like those in other regions. And the Park rules are clear: you don’t enter natural caves unless they are signposted as places of interest, and only along the marked route.

There is one easy exception: the Grotta Grattara, at the foot of Pizzo di Pilo above Gratteri, at over 1,000 metres. According to the Park authority you reach it from the San Nicola plateau on a zigzag path through the pine wood; inside there is a large rock basin carved by dripping water, and local legend makes it the home of the Befana. You don’t need caving gear, but it is still a natural cave: look at it without climbing the walls.

You can also see the karst well while walking, and the geosites are described in the guide to the Madonie UNESCO Global Geopark:

• on the Piano Battaglia plateau and on the climb to Pizzo Carbonara, among dolines and limestone pavements;
• along the Battaglietta-Portella Colla geological trail and Isnello’s urban geological trail, which appear in the programme of the European Geoparks Week;
• in the Gole di Tiberio, the canyon of the Pollina river at San Mauro Castelverde.

How to become a caver

Caving is learned in a group, with instructors, and the first step is an introductory course. In Sicily they are run by CAI sections with a caving group, under the National Caving School.

The latest published edition we found near the Madonie is CAI Palermo’s: the 54th, from 5 to 25 March 2025, with theory lessons on Tuesday evenings and practical sessions outdoors and in caves. It was open from age 15, with a non-competitive sports medical certificate, and places were limited. The section’s caving group also has trips planned in 2026, for members only.

On a course you learn to use the equipment, to move safely underground and to respect the cave environment. These things can’t be improvised, and this page deliberately does not explain them.

Safety underground: the rules that never change

• Never alone: you go caving in a group, with at least one experienced person for every difficult passage.
• Someone outside must know: where you are going in, with whom and when you expect to come out.
• No signal: phones don’t work underground and often not even near the entrances. In an emergency, the number is 112.
• Weather matters: sinkholes come back to life with rain. A dry cave today can take water tomorrow.
• The land is private: the entrances of both caves are on private property. Ask permission.
• Don’t touch, don’t take: formations and archaeological finds are fragile and protected, and the Park forbids damaging the environment.

For the rest of the mountains, from the CAI scale to rescue, see the article on safety on Madonie trails. If you are interested in the rock from the outside, the guide to climbing in the Madonie covers the bolted crags.