Everything you wanted to know about the stalactite caves
Cave – dark, mysterious, invisible… Caves have always been a dark chapter in human life. The sight of a dark opening in a mountainside awakens the imagination, some yearning for adventure and some fearing a demonic monster in its depths.
For early man, the cave was first and foremost a place to live – a shelter from the rain and cold, a hideout from the night and wild animals, and later, a place to store food and objects, and even a room to hang a curtain and a picture. Over the years, the caves developed into an orderly and luxurious place to live (all relative, of course), and entire communities developed around and within the caves.
Even in the modern era, when man has learned to build everything from simple wooden and stone houses to sophisticated skyscrapers, people still live in caves. Some in remote places, in cold and bare caves, and some in populated and inhabited places where underground forms of living have developed – as evidenced by the underground communities (Troglodytes) inLoire valley בFrance, the city of Matera in southern Italy, or the caves in southern Mount Hebron.
In the caves that we explore and visit today, two essential types must be distinguished. What is commonly called – a clearly unscientific name – “cave of ancient man” are caves in which our ancestors lived and where remains and remains have been found that testify to this – bones, pottery and iron vessels, traces of soot, and more.
In a small number of these caves, paintings were also found – some in black only, others in more color. These are caves of historical and anthropological value and constitute a vast field for in-depth and meticulous research. This is not the purpose of this article and I intend to tell more about the second, more touristy type of caves – the caves of stalactites and stalagmites.
Note: There are very few caves that combine both types, ancient man and stalactites (or stalagmites). Naturally, in the cave where man lived and lived, stalactites did not form, and if they had existed before – they did not survive due to human activity. Ancient man probably did not know how to appreciate such natural treasures and what environmental conservation is.
How a stalactite cave is formed
The Earth is made up of separate geological plates (“tectonic plates”). The Eurasian Plate, the American Plate, the Australian Plate, and others are the ones that make up the various continents, but these plates are not fixed in place and are pressed against each other, without being one continuous piece of land.
Today, after millions of years since the formation of the Earth (“the Big Bang”), there is very little internal activity within the Earth and therefore there are no major movements of the tectonic plates (internal activity of the Earth is sometimes expressed in volcanic eruptions or earthquakes). In the Earth’s geological past – millions and hundreds of thousands of years ago – these movements of the soil layers created mountains and valleys, and every fold, or fault, in the ground created a crack that allowed water to seep into the ground.
Water that seeped through a layer of limestone rock dissolved it very slowly. Over thousands of years, the crack in the rock widened, layers broke and collapsed due to their own weight, and holes, pits, and other cavities were formed in the ground. Pits whose walls collapsed and were exposed to light and the outside air – these are the caves. Many others remained closed, sealed off from air, rain, and cold. The geological activity within them continued slowly over the years, undisturbed by animals and humans.
The slowly percolating water dissolves the dissolved limestone from the bedrock. When, during its journey through the rock and soil, the water reaches the edge of the bedrock layer, at the ceiling of the pit or cave, the drop of water falls to the bottom of the cave. As it falls, the drop leaves a thin layer of limestone on the ceiling of the cave. The limestone dries and crystallizes into stone. Another drop of water will leave a new layer of limestone in its place… and another… and another. Thus, after millions of years of dripping and thin layers of limestone one on top of the other, a stalactite hanging from the ceiling of the cave is formed.
When the water drips faster (for example, abundant water after heavy rains, or a wider ground crack), the chalk does not have enough time to dry and crystallize on the cave ceiling and the drop of water falls immediately to the bottom. After the water evaporates, a layer of chalk crystallizes on the ground. Above it, another layer of chalk is formed… and another… and after millions of years, a stalagmite stands on the cave floor.
Stalactite caves in France
Stalactites are formed by dripping (the name “Stalactite” is taken from the Greek, “Stalaktos”, meaning “dripping drop by drop”), and virtually any dripping material can form stalactites. For example, the icicles that form on the edges of roofs in cold winter. However, the necessary condition for the formation of a stalactite – and also a stalactite – is the cave, the space in which the water droplets can fall and drip.
There are hundreds and thousands of stalactite caves all over the world, and perhaps even more, since they haven't all been found yet. I don't intend to review them all, since this site deals only with France. I also don't want to classify and rank them, since a cave can be large and extensive, but uninteresting, or small and short, but beautiful. Moreover, "beauty" is a relative concept, and not everything that is beautiful to me is also beautiful to you.
The Mehadrin will say that no two caves are alike. At the same time, there are many similarities, and although a sentinel is a sentinel, the eye never tires of seeing them. Every time I enter a cave like this, I am amazed anew, even though I have already seen stalagmites, stalactites, curtains, and disks, mostly – large and small, straight and diagonal, white and colorful.
This is also why I cannot (or do not want to) rank the caves and state which one is the most beautiful and which one is “only” in second place. To me, every stalactite cave is beautiful, and in every cave I stand in awe of the beauty of nature, of the magic of water droplets. In other caves, underground winds blow and the water droplets and chalk splash to the sides, creating diagonal and even completely horizontal stalactites, transparent and thin, with branches and shapes that no painter or sculptor could invent.
And my imagination runs wild and from a certain angle I see a tiger leaping out of the rock, and perhaps a cat licking itself. In another cave I saw a woman holding her baby on her arm (Grotte de Demoiselles), and in yet another cave, a graceful dancer, made of white stone, almost transparent, fragile as delicate glass, performing on a narrow stone platform (Lacave).
In another cave I saw rounded stone partitions formed down an underground hill, and quiet water collected in these partitions created a kind of “terraces” of small, quiet lakes of water, sparkling in the artificial lighting (Grotte Saint Marcel). There is no end to the descriptions and sights, no end to the beauty and sound of the dripping water in the silence of the depths of the earth.
So on your next trip to France, pack a sweater (the temperature is constant in caves and is usually quite low) and enter to see magical views deep underground.
Here I will give a brief overview of some of the most beautiful stalactite caves I have seen in France. As mentioned, there is no ranking here, and the second cave is not more beautiful than the sixth, or vice versa. The order is the CBA order of the cave names (“Grotte”, cave in French).
(Grotte de Choranche (Isere)
The cave is located in the Isere department, in the Vercors mountain range, a beautiful area in itself, which was a stronghold of the French underground during World War II, mainly due to difficult access roads that made it difficult for the Germans to locate the underground fighters (in the photo above, the black line in the middle of the cliff is the access road carved into the rock, up to the cave entrance). The Choranche cave has a special status because the entrance to the cave is on private property and is the only one in France considered a “private cave,” although it is open to the public without restrictions.
Oscar Decombaz, a French caver, discovered the entrance to the cave in September 1897 and reached the first rock arch in the tunnel. It was not until 1949 that an opening in the rock arch was opened by Roger Penelon, allowing further exploration of the cave, and another stage in 1954 after passing through an underground waterfall 116 meters high.
The cave was created by an underground river (Serpentine) which, where it widened in the cave, created a large lake, at the end of which is a waterfall that flows into an underground basin (Cirque de Choranche). A special phenomenon on the ceiling of the cave presents a kind of “drinking straws” (Fistuleuses, Soda Straws, thin, almost transparent and hollow stalactites).
Address and useful information about visiting the cave
As with most stalactite caves, the visit is guided only and cannot be explored independently. Lasts about an hour. On weekdays, tours every hour and a quarter between 11:15 and 16:30. On Saturdays and Sundays, more frequently. For detailed and exact hours, see the website below. The temperature in the cave is 10 degrees.
Grotte de Choranche, 38680 Choranche Tel. 0476360988
Tickets (2019-2020): Adult – €12, Youth (15-18) – €10.50, Child (4-14) – €7.50, Under 4 – Free.
Please arrive 20 minutes before the tour begins. Tickets can be reserved in advance on the website.
More information can be found on the cave's website.
(Clamouse Cave (Herault)
The entrance to this cave is a few hundred meters outside the charming medieval village of Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert, which has about 250 inhabitants, quiet and peaceful, where stands a beautiful Benedictine monastery, Abbaye Saint-Sauveur de Gellone, founded in 804 AD. The entrance to the cave has been known since the time of ancient man (the Middle Neolithic period), but speleologists reached the depths of the cave only in the second half of the 20th century and only then did the wonderful sights of its halls open to their eyes.
After being prepared and arranged, the cave was first opened to tourist visits in 1964. This cave has a wide variety of stalagmites and stalactites that are formed by different wind directions, water currents of different speeds and strengths, which cause the limestone layer to crystallize in special shapes. Here you will see thin “drinking straws” that are up to 4 meters long, tall “curtains” that are almost transparent due to their thin thickness, and round “disks” of various sizes that appear to be hanging from a beam, protruding at impossible angles from the cave walls, as if collapsing and falling to the wet floor.
Small pits formed by the dripping of water on the bedrock created cavities in which a marble of limestone crystal was formed, which does not crystallize, but rolls inside the cavity every time a stream of water hits it. Water that flows in closed, straight surfaces creates shiny, smooth mirror surfaces, one of a kind, in which the drinking straws hanging from the cave ceiling are reflected - a magical sight that surpasses all imagination and leaves viewers speechless.
Address and useful information about visiting the cave
Here too, the visit is guided only. It lasts about an hour and a half. In the summer months (July-August) visits are between 10:30 and 18:00. In the rest of the year, check the hours on the cave's website. The temperature in the cave is 16 degrees.
Grotte de Clamouse, Route de Saint Guilhem le Désert, 34150 SAINT JEAN DE FOS Tél: 0467577105
Tickets (2019): Adult – €11.60, Youth (12-18) – €8.80, Child (3-11) – €6.80, Under 3 – Free.
Tickets can be ordered in advance on the website.
(Grotte de la Cocaliere (Gard)
Many in the tourism industry in France consider this cave to be one of the most beautiful in the country, and for good reason. The cave is located on the border between the Gard and Ardeche departments, inSouth of FranceA drive on Highway 904 through green hilly landscapes will bring you to the parking lot next to the ticket offices, from where a small electric train will take you to the entrance to the cave.
The visited stalactite cave is only a small part of an underground network of tunnels and caverns with a total length of about 30 km, most of which are closed to the public. The cave, which is still active (that is, water drips and limestone layers are formed during the visit), was discovered in 1854 and since then every few years deeper tours have been conducted in it and each time additional tunnels, caves and lakes have been discovered. In 1965, the current entrance tunnel was dug to facilitate access and then the cave was opened to tourist visits.
Address and useful information about visiting the cave
Grotte de la Cocalière, 30500 COURRY
Phone. +33 0466243474
Mail: accueil@grotte-cocaliere.com
Here too, guided visits take place in the summer months (July-August) from 09:30 to 18:00, continuously. In the rest of the year – from 10:00 to 17:00, every half hour. Pets are not allowed. The visit lasts about an hour. The temperature in the cave is 14 degrees.
Tickets (2019): Adult – €12, Child (6-12) – €8.50, Under 6 – Free.
(Dargilan Cave (Lozere)
Full disclosure: Of all the stalactite caves mentioned here, this is the only one I have not been to myself and cannot personally attest to its nature or beauty, but it is considered one of the most beautiful and largest in France. It is called the “Pink Cave” because of the color of the rocks in it, due to high concentrations of iron acids. The cave has a cavity 140 meters long and 50 meters wide and is one of the largest underground cavities in France. In this cavity you will also see a “curtain” stalactite system with a total area of about 2000 square meters, one of the largest in the world.
The cave is located in the Cevennes region, in the rugged plateau region of the Larzac Massif Central, not far from the Tarn River Canyon and another magnificent stalactite cave, Aven d'Orgnac (below). The cave was discovered in 1888 by a shepherd chasing a fox. The cave was explored by Edouard Martel (a renowned French speleologist, 1859-1938) and was opened to the public in 1890 – the first tourist stalactite cave in France.
Address and useful information about visiting the cave
Dargilan – “La Grotte Rose”, 48150 Meyrueis, Lozere
Tel. +33 0466456020, Mail: contact@dargilan.com
Guided visits only. In the summer months (July-August) from 10:30 to 17:00, at any time. The rest of the year – see detailed hours on the website. Pets are not allowed. The visit lasts about an hour. The temperature in the cave is 10 degrees.
Tickets (2019): Adult – €12.50, Child (5-18) – €8.00, Under 5 – Free.
(Grotte des Demoiselles (Languedoc-Rousillon
Legend has it that a shepherd searching for a stray goat discovered the cave when he fell into its opening…. The truth is that the cave has been known since ancient times, even if not for its entire length. Already in the times of ancient man, the front of the cave was used as a human dwelling, and in the Middle Ages it served as a hiding place for fugitives and the persecuted.
In the center of the cave is a large and spacious hall (120 X 48 meters, 52 meters high) which was not without reason given the name “La Cathedrale”. In the center of the hall stands a large sentinel who, in the right light, looks like a woman holding a baby in her arms…. The basis for countless legends and folk tales about fairies, saints and one virgin…. Hence the name of the stalactite cave – “Demoiselles” (“Maidens” in French).
The cave is located in the limestone mountains on the southern slopes of the Massif Central, not far from the cities of Nimes and Montpellier. The first to explore it in depth was the French speleologist Edouard Martel in 1884, who passed through the first chamber and penetrated deep into the mountain - 300 meters below ground level in tunnels that are 500 meters long.
The cave was only opened to the public in 1931, after the construction of a diagonal elevator (funicular) that bypassed the need to hang from the ceiling of the hall with ropes. In addition, stairs were built around the large hall that descend (and ascend) in the various tunnels, as well as several observation balconies overlooking the walls of the hall and the forest of sentinels within it.
Address and useful information about visiting the cave
Grotte des Demoiselles, D986, 34190 Saint-Bauzille-de-Putois
Guided tours are held in the summer months (July-August) from 10:00 to 18:00, continuously. In the rest of the year – 10:30 to 17:00 (see details on the website below). The visit lasts about an hour and 20 minutes. The temperature in the cave is 14 degrees. Tickets can be ordered through the website.
Tickets (2019): Adult – €12, Youth (12-17) – €9.50, Child (4-11) – €7.50, Under 4 – Free.
(Grotte de Lacave (Dordogne)
I came across the Lacave stalactite cave by chance, without even knowing about its existence. On one of my trips to the district Dordogne (Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful regions in France), I drove from the small town of Souillac to visit the Bretenoux Castle. As usual, I preferred to roll along small country roads over the busy main roads and thus found myself on the D23 winding along the southern bank of the Dordogne River.
I had never heard of this cave – not since I explored the Dordogne region, nor since I have been interested in stalactite caves (see below, Aven d'Orgnac). I stopped, parked, entered – and was amazed. As I mentioned at the beginning, “beauty” is a relative concept and depends on the eye of the beholder…. Maybe also because I did not expect a cave in this place…. This is the most beautiful stalactite cave I have ever seen, in all my travels around the world.
The Cave of Stalactites, open to visitors since 1905 (February to November only), contains 12 rooms spread over 1.6 km in the thickness of the earth, in the limestone cliffs where the Dordogne River carved its channel over the years. Sophisticated lighting (including ultraviolet lighting that highlights the colors of the stalactites and figures) hidden behind the stone curtains, stalactites and stalagmites only enhances the magical sight, the sheerness of the transparent stone and the miraculous acts of nature.
The same lighting will make you notice various figures, imaginary and mythological, in the last hall, the “Hall of Wonders” (“Salle des Merveilles”) where you can see a ballet dancer, about 10 cm tall, performing on a stalactite stage while frozen in white stone.
One more thing: During the third week of July, every year, an international jazz festival is held in the nearby town of Souillac. Some of the performances take place in the underground hall of the stalactite cave, which was discovered to have rare acoustics. Space is limited and tickets are snapped up months in advance….
Address and useful information about visiting the cave
Grotte de Lacave, D23, LACAVE 46200
Phone: + 33 0565378703
Guided tours are held in the summer months (July-August) from 09:30 to 12:30, and from 13:30 to 18:00. In the rest of the year – 10:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00 (see details on the website below). The visit lasts about an hour and 20 minutes. The temperature in the cave is 14 degrees. Tickets can be ordered through the website.
Tickets (2019): Adult – €11.50, Youth (4-13) – €7, Under 4 – Free.
(Aven d'Orgnac (Ardeche)
In the late 60s, when I was still a teenager, I went on a trip to France with my parents. When we arrived in Aven d'Orgnac (pronounced Aven d'Orniak), I was told that we were going to visit a stalactite cave – I had no idea what it was, but the word "cave" was already frightening and terrifying images flashed through my mind: the ceiling would collapse on me, a black bear would come running at me, underground water would rise and flood me, the ground would give way under my feet, and so on and so forth.
When I was told that thousands had already visited here and nothing had happened to them…. It didn’t calm me down. And yet I went in…. And this is where it all began. That’s how I discovered stalactite caves. Although I didn’t become a speleologist, I don’t miss any opportunity to enter a stalactite cave, anywhere in the world.
The cave is located at the southern end of the Ardeche mountain range, at the southern end of the Massif Central (the highlands region in central France).
In August 1935, a team of French cave explorers descended into the cave’s natural opening after being told by local shepherds about a “crack in the ground.” Robert de Joly, the leader of the team, managed to infect the mayor of Orgnac, where the cave was located, with his enthusiasm, and funds were quickly found to invest in tourist development. After two years of planning and preparation, construction began, and in July 1939 the site was opened to the public.
The cave contains several large halls, the total length of which is about 5 km. The descent to them is by 700 steps – not in sequence – to a depth of 187 meters below ground level (the ascent back up is by elevator). The main hall, Salle Joly, is 122 meters long and 74 meters wide, and has a ceiling 30 meters high. From this hall, passages open to about 10 other secondary halls, smaller and equally beautiful.
Address and useful information about visiting the cave
Aven d'Orgnac – La Cité de la Préhistoire, 2240 route de l'Aven, 07150 Orgnac-l'Aven
Phone: + 33 0475386510
Email: infos@orgnac.com
Guided tours are held in the summer months (July-August) from 09:30 to 19:00, every half hour. In the rest of the year – 10:00 to 18:00 (see details on the website below). The visit lasts an hour. Pets are not allowed. The temperature in the cave is 12 degrees. Tickets can be ordered through the website.
Tickets (2019): Adult – €14.50, Youth (6-14) – €9.50, Under 6 – Free.
(Saint Marcel d'Ardeche (Ardeche
The Saint-Marcel Cave is located in the south of France, at the entrance to the Ardeche River Canyon, a scenic gem in itself. The natural entrance to the cave was discovered as early as 1838, when a wild animal slipped through the opening by a hunter who was chasing it. However, it was not until 50 years later (1890) that the speleologist who worked in the area, Edouard Martel, entered it, but did not go deeper than the first chamber.
Robert de Joly, the caver who discovered Aven d'Orgnac (above) and other caves in the area, made a full and in-depth mapping of Saint-Marcel in 1930 and again in 1940, but he was stopped by a lack of suitable equipment when he reached an underground river. It was not until 1960, and again in 1980, that a joint team of French and Belgian cavers managed to dive and traverse the underground river and discover 57 km of tunnels and chambers in the earth's crust, down to a depth of 287 meters below the surface, of which 18 km are flooded by river water.
In 1980, the Ardeche River Canyon was declared a national park and only then did work begin on preparing the cave for visitors. In 1988, the first 600 meters of the cave's entrance were opened to visitors - a difficult and impassable stretch for visitors.
The most recognizable feature of the cave is the pools of water. The crystallization of the limestone droplets has created rounded partitions on the sloping cave floor, and every time it rains heavily and the underground river overflows its banks, the partitions fill with water and the bottom of the cave looks like steps (“terraces”) covered in a shiny water mirror… a magical sight.
One more thing: In recent years, an interesting experiment has been taking place in the cave – local winemakers are aging wine barrels in the depths of the cave in an attempt to test whether the closed air, constant temperature and humidity affect the quality of the wine. Wine tasting on site.
Address and useful information about visiting the cave
Grotte Saint-Marcel d'Ardeche, Route des Gorges, 07700 Bidon
Tél. : +33 0475043807, Mail: contact@grotte-ardeche.com
Guided tours are held in the summer months (July-August) from 09:00 to 20:00. In the rest of the year – 10:00 to 18:00 (see details on the website below). The visit lasts an hour. The temperature in the cave – 14 degrees.
Tickets (2019): Adult – €11, Youth (6-15) – €6.50, Under 6 – Free.
Hi Yossi.
Nice to read the article.
I recommend two more spectacular caves in the Dordogne region.
GOUFRE DE PADIRAC. You go down to it in 3 elevators, walk a long way inside an underground river, get on a boat and sail to the cave, all underground.
Another cave in the fortified village of Gord. In the center of the village there are interesting stalactite caves and the entrance to them is through the local tourist office.
Of course, I also recommend the PECHE MEREL cave, but that's a different story. This stalactite cave houses very moving prehistoric paintings. It's also nearby.
I did not include the Peche-Merle cave because it belongs to the category of prehistoric caves (just like Lascaux and Chauvet). I am not familiar with the cave in Gordes. In my humble opinion, the caves I mentioned are more beautiful than Padirac, but that is of course a personal assessment. Thank you for your comment.