Discovered in 1902 by Armand Viré, hydrogeologist, prehistorian, archaeologist and dowser, inventor of "biospeology" (the study of living organisms inside caves) with the creation of the first underground laboratory, located in the underground quarries of the Jardin des Plantes, the Lacave caves have a little surprise in store for you as soon as you enter.
A small train takes you 450 m down the hill.
From there, a guide takes you on a tour of four rooms on the left side, featuring a variety of concretions, waterfalls, columns, stalactites and stalacmites, and inhabited by a varied bestiary, including the legendary Tarasque monster and the elephant.
On the right-hand side, the most imposing part, you'll find 60 m-high chambers, underground lakes (the sunken city) and, of course, the famous hall of black lights.
All in all, a 1.6 km circuit and 12 underground chambers, each more spectacular than the last, are gradually revealed: the Salle du Chaos, whose acoustics make it ideal for concerts, the Salle du Déjeuner, the Couloir des Neiges, the Salle des Orgues, the Salle du Grand Dôme, underground lakes, the famous sunken cities and, of course, the spectacular Salle des lumières noires, where the concretions become phosphorescent. Then comes the Salle des Merveilles, where fireflies invade the silence, and finally the Salle des Excentriques, where stalactites defy Newton and his law of gravity.
But the must-see in the Lacave caves are the eccentric stalactites, concretions that defy the laws of weightlessness and fly off in all directions.
Les Grottes de Lacave
46200 Lacave
Tel.: 05 65 37 87 03
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