Choranche Caves – Vercors
Choranche Caves – Vercors
Choranche caves are a feast for the eyes!
Forty minutes by car from Grenoble, and just off one of the famous bends in the vertiginous Bourne Gorges which lead to Villard-de-Lans and Le Vercors, the caves lie hidden under 300 metres of limestone that constitutes the Presles Cliffs.
The main cave was discovered in 1875 by the inhabitants of the village of Choranche, which lies just below. Oscar Descombaz, a pioneer in caving, began exploring in the 1890s the network of galleries that we now know stretch over thirty kilometres!
The entrance to the site has now been adapted for the public and offers a magnificent view of the Vercors and the river Bourne which fashioned these gorges...
Ready for the visit? Don't forget your woollies! Whatever the season, the temperature inside is always ten degrees centigrade...
Don't miss
The Siphon Gallery, which is home to a rare and spectacular phenomenon: thousands of very fine (four millimetres in diameter), tubular stalactites made of calcium crystals! These super-white stalactites are known as "fistulous stalactites" and some are three metres long!
The Proteus, one of the most ancient animal species in the world! Nicknamed "the living fossil", this eyeless and colourless amphibian lives up to eighty years and feeds on micro-organisms and other cavernicolous species. In light of its size (up to thirty-five centimetres long), it is the largest predator of the underground world.
Touring: the waterfall tour
After your tour of the caves, take the safe and easily-accessible path up to a superb waterfall; as you progress along the path, you will learn about the genesis of the Vercors and the many scientific discoveries that have elucidated the mysteries of our Earth. Several themed exhibitions punctuate the walk, on subjects such as caving, geology, prehistory, wildlife on the Vercors...
The site is open every day, all year round.
