Could one dream of a more majestic front door?
Seventy meters high, almost as wide, the Arize River which thunders and flies at full speed below... The Mas d'Azil cave sets the tone for this dive into the heart of prehistoric Ariège.
It masterfully foreshadows our journey through time, tens of thousands of years back, to the land of caves dug in the Plantaurel limestone or on the first slopes of the Pyrenees.
To discover
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Mas d'Azil cave: the Azilian temple
At
the Mas d'Azil
, therefore, to appreciate the monumental character of the cave, it is best to approach it by its southern entrance, coming from Saint-Girons.
On this side, the roof is so high that a bungee jumping spot has been installed.
But let's leave the thrill seekers and the drivers in a hurry who cross the cavity without suspecting the wonders that the site conceals.
By parking the car at the entrance, walking along the river then through a succession of narrow halls and passages (and even very narrow at the end), it is a leap 17,000 years back that we do.
The guided tour recounts the various excavations, the discoveries of bones and tools – in particular that of a famous thruster – so important that the Mas d'Azil gave its name to a period of prehistory: the
Azilian.
Much later, the cave served as a refuge for Protestants.
Today, it is only populated by a colony of bats.
When leaving the site, a stop in the village is a must.
The entrance ticket to the cave includes a visit to the Museum of Prehistory where the famous Azilian pebbles, an Azilian skull and a reproduction of a masterpiece of Paleolithic art are displayed: the beautifully named ornate thruster " Fawn to birds”.
Mas d'Azil cave, D119.
Such.
: 05 61 05 10 10. Price €9 for adults, €5.50 for children.
Museum of Prehistory, village square, 09290 Le-Mas-d'Azil.
Grotte de Lombrives: the fascination of the depths
Located in the Ariège valley, between Tarascon and Ussat-les-Bains, the Lombrives cave has held a record for thirty years, that of the largest converted cave in Europe.
ADT / Photo press
To stay in this monumental and gigantic atmosphere, head for the Lombrives cave.
Located in the Ariège valley, between Tarascon and Ussat-les-Bains, it has held a record for thirty years, that of the largest converted cave in Europe.
If it presents less archaeological interest than the Mas-d'Azil, Lombrives enchants with its huge rooms, its emerald lake, its stalagmites and its giant stalactites.
The visit begins with a journey of one kilometer that can be done by a small train.
Then, it is the great leap into the depths of History, that of the Cro-Magnon men, the Cathars and the Huguenots who inhabited the cavity.
It is also here, in March 2021, that 7 men and 7 women lived 40 days isolated from the world, without any means of knowing the time.
Deep Time
aimed to question the adaptability of the human species.
Lombrives is also the legend of Princess Pyrène with whom Hercules fell madly in love.
When the demi-god learned that a bear had killed her, he decided that Lombrives would be his tomb and that around it he would shape the Pyrenees.
Cave of Lombrives, National Road 20, 09400 Ussat-les-Bains.
Such.
: 06 49 44 45 00.
Cave of Niaux: the masterpiece of parietal art
The Niaux cave located in the Tarasconnais is a sanctuary of parietal art.
Kann / Photo press
Some speleologists are convinced: by its incredible network of galleries, Lombrives joins the cave of Niaux.
This cavity located in the Tarasconnais is a sanctuary of parietal art, a totally authentic marvel since here, it is not facsimiles that we admire.
After a short hour's walk in the dark, through galleries shaped by the rivers, a torch moves and sketches the outlines of a bison painted on the wall, then an ibex, some strikingly beautiful horses.
World famous, the "Black Room" is the apotheosis of exploration, a veritable museum whose works are 14,000 years old.
In this majestic room, Cro-Magnon men painted more than 70 animals.
On each panel, and especially on the fourth and sixth, the lines are of
extraordinary precision while the slender silhouettes perfectly marry the shapes of the relief.
Rare, these paintings are also fragile.
This is why one cannot linger more than 25 minutes on the spot.
Visits, by appointment only, are made in groups of 25, in order to preserve this decorated cave, one of the few in the world to remain open to the public.
The Cave of Niaux, 09400 Niaux.
Such.
: 05 61 05 10 10.
Tarascon-sur-Ariège Prehistory Park: in the shoes of Cro-Magnon
The Prehistory Park of Tarascon-sur-Ariège.
Stéphane Meurisse Sesta / Press photo
For conservation reasons, part of the Niaux cave is closed to the public.
Fortunately, its other hidden treasures can be seen a few kilometers away, at
the Prehistory Park in Tarascon-sur-Ariège.
.
This 13-hectare site, complete with a small lake, is the perfect place to end this trip.
It presents not only a number of facsimiles, the reconstruction of a cave and a prehistoric camp, but also various fun activities to get into the shoes of Cro-Magnon man or the most famous paleontologists through participatory workshops, hunting parties or archaeological digs.
The creators have also imagined a sound labyrinth in which we walk amid the roars of bears, the antlers of ibexes which collide or the howls of wolves.
And to end this visit, the Park offers a last surprise: a musical creation, an auditory journey, made with primitive wind instruments, those used by Cro-Magnon 16 years ago.
Park of Prehistory, 09400 Tarascon-sur-Ariège.
Such.
: 05 61 05 10 10.
ALSO VISIT:
- The cave of Bédeilhac, its entrance is so vast that planes were built there at the beginning of the Second World War.
- The Labouiche underground river: a real geological curiosity.
6 kilometers from Foix, it flows 60 meters underground and can be visited on a one-hour boat trip.
09000 Baulou.
Such.
: 05 61 65 04 11.
SEE ALSO
- Dinosaur: Europe's largest predator discovered on the Isle of Wight
