The Lot’s subsoil is as rich and beautiful as the surface!
Journey to the center of the earth: chasms and caves to visit in the Lot!
Camping Le Ventoulou is the ideal destination for discovering the chasms, caves and other paleontological sites close to our Lot campsite. At least 8 are open to the public. This makes the Lot department one of France’s richest in underground cavities.
Go underground to explore them, discover them and go back in time with their fascinating stories. You’re in for a real treat.
It’s hard to imagine, walking through these causses and valleys, that an incredible underground life exists. Here, you can rediscover your childlike soul and discover the magical world of caves.
Campsite near Gouffre de Padirac
Located 4 km from Le Ventoulou campsite, Le Gouffre de Padirac is a monumental natural cavern. Among caves and chasms, it’s the most emblematic and the #1 underground site in France. The opening is 35 metres in diameter and the chasm plunges 75 metres from the surface of the causse. At the bottom, 103 metres underground, the Padirac river flows through a network of galleries more than 40km long! Part of the visit is by boat on the underground river, then on foot.
Explore the Enchanted Underground Heritagedu lot
Les Grottes de Lacave:
The descent by electric train takes you into a magical world, a succession of chambers where concretions are reflected in the water of small underground lakes. Then we find ourselves in a 2,000m2 cave where the black light makes the rock sparkle. With its superb acoustics, the cave is sometimes transformed into a concert hall after tours during the summer. If you get the chance, it’s a great moment to share.
Les Grottes de Presque:
The Grottes de Presque boast some of the finest stalagmitic pillars in the world. Some, like “Les Cierges”, are extremely fine and can reach 10 meters in height. Easily accessible even to young children, you can admire an uninterrupted succession of concretions in a variety of hues and graceful, elegant shapes.
The prehistoric Grotte des Merveilles :
Shallow and modest in size, the cave’s first attraction is its crystalline concretions. Once accustomed to them, the eye can then distinguish a few of the seventy parietal motifs identified by prehistorians. More than 20,000 years ago, men came to paint, negative hands, deer, punctuation… Thanks to these paintings, the cave has been classified as a Historic Monument since 1925.
La Grotte des Carbonnières :
The latest cave to open in France (July1, 2018), it offers a new vision of the depths of our Earth. Meticulously sculpted and shaped by water, erosion and time, the Grotte des Carbonnières, located near Rocamadour and Padirac in the Lacave commune, boasts a wide variety of mineral formations, including stalactites, draperies, disks, impressive columns and translucent fistulas.
Les Grottes de Cougnac:
A magical sanctuary, the two Cougnac caves are characterized by a prodigious mineral vegetation surrounding remarkable prehistoric paintings: ibex, mammoths, large deer, human figures, various signs… The Cougnac caves are among the oldest figurative drawings open to the public. The ornate gallery, listed as a Historic Monument since 1954, reveals various traces left by our Upper Paleolithic ancestors some 25,000 years ago.
Grotte du Pech Merle :
Listed as a Historic Monument, the Grotte du Pech Merle is one of the few caves still open to the public where you can admire the original paintings. It combines the natural beauty of the concretions with remarkable prehistoric artworks. The numerous drawings and engravings, dating back some 25,000 years, are very well preserved and display all the techniques of cave art.
Phosphatières du Cloup d’Aural :
These former phosphate mines invite you to discover unexpected tropical vegetation. The walk is amazing and the site is incredible.
And nearby :
Lascaux IV:
2016 saw the opening of the Centre International de l’Art Pariétal de Montignac-Lascaux, focused on the complete reproduction of the Lascaux cave and the use of new image and virtual technologies.
Le Gouffre de Proumeyssac :
The Cathedral of Crystal is the largest fully developed cavity in the Périgord. Considered at the end of the 18th century to be the crater of an extinct volcano, the site has been open to the public since 1907!
La Grotte de Domme :
Beneath the Bastide of Domme lies the fantastic world of the largest cave in the Périgord Noir, with its colonnades, stalactites and stalagmites. An underground gem, the entrance to the Domme cave is located beneath the 17th-century Halle, inviting you to explore a veritable treasure trove of 450 m of gallery.
Maxange caves:
Let yourself be surprised by a unique and magical grotto. Maxange is a site that delights young and old alike, and is recognized as one of the most beautiful concretion caves in France.
