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La Grotte de Niaux
Location: 2km
south of Tarascon-sur-Ariège, around 100km south of Toulouse along the
A66 autoroute.
General Info: Tel: 05 61 05 88 37.
Website:
http://www.niaux.net/ (french only). There is one tour each
day held in English.
Description: Probably the best cave in the area, rivalling
Lascaux in the Dordogne for its cave paintings. There are several other
attractions in the village including a museum and a forge.
Our recommendations: Reservations are essential (05 61 05 88 37)
for a place on the 45 minute guided tour – max of about 10 visits per
day of around 20 people per visit! Cost is around €10 per person.
Using torches for light you travel about 1km into the cave complex. The
cave drawings of horses and bison were estimated to have been created
about 10,000BC!
For the
children:
This visit is fascinating but is not really ideal for younger children.
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Our favourite
caves in the
Pyrénées:
-
Grottes de Bétharram
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Grotte de Lombrives
-
Grottes
de Médous
-
Grotte de
Niaux
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Best
Caves in the Pyrenees
As you might expect with so much water flowing down from
the mountain tops, the Pyrenees has a wide range of cave complexes.
They are mainly concentrated in the lower reaches of the Pyrenees where
one can find some real subterranean masterpieces! They provide an
excellent option for rainy days as the temperature will usually be around
13 degree C underground, whatever the weather outside!