The Pit GOUFFRE DE LA FAGE
The Gouffre de La Fage opens at the heart of nature, in a large underbrush, in the town of Noailles, at 8 km south from Brive-La-Gaillarde, in Correze, at the border of the departments of Lot and Dordogne. It offers many aspects to its visitors: richness and density of concretions, palaeontological site, and colony of bats, visible at certain times of the year, for the biggest pleasure of its visitors...
Cro-Magnon Men have lived there, on the plateau, leaving here and there some tools ... But did they go down to the bottom of the great swallow-hole? This is a mystery... The first "official" explorations, go back to the 1890's: workers of the railway line, linking Brive-La Gaillarde to Cahors, try the experience, soon followed by the inhabitants of the region whom would go down with simple ropes. Then came the regional scientists, Mr. Rupin, Mr. Lalande, and Mr. Valat. Their surprise was such, while discovering the beauty of the pit, that they notified the great caver at the time, Edouard Alfred Martel, who came to explore it in 1891 and 1892.
The first topography will be published in 1950, after many painstaking explorations. The first installations made by the owner of the premises, Mr. Bouthier, will remain rudimentary at first: a wooden staircase will allow for easy descent to the bottom of the pit, lighting will be using acetylene lamps. The success is growing. Mr. Bouthier will then associate himself with an entrepreneur, Mr. Dayre, to set up more consistent facilities. The challenge is successful, giving to the many visitors one of the most beautiful caves upgraded for tourism.
Edouard Alfred Martel said: "... the crystal form ornamentation is much more beautiful there than in many cavities that are too boasted about...".
Like for an invitation to this Wonderful Subterranean World...
The Visit
The Great Sage awaits you, dominating the final room, after a journey of 350 meters.
The Travel to the Imaginary World begins as from the descent of the large swallow-hole, decorated with many ferns and mosses, which provide a setting that is both wild and unexpected. Like a transition between the Plant World and the Mineral World .
A pleasant room welcomes you, 25 meters deep, dominated by a large column separating 2 galleries. Small wink of the surface, when one passes under the small swallow-hole, before sinking into the long corridor of the first gallery: shimmering colors .
Petrified cascades, draperies and organs come to cover the walls
The eccentric defying the laws of nature.
Figures, sculpted by Nature, accompany you throughout this journey: a small elephant, a bride, Santa-Claus, turtle shell .
The Great Sage awaits you, dominating the final room, after a journey of 350 meters.
The Pit
Large blocks looking like they are suspended in the air, at more than 10 meters in height, seem to want to preserve the privacy of the guests of the pit.
Maybe you'll have a chance to see them go by... Both harmless and mysterious, fragile and unknown, bats hide or reveal themselves, over the seasons and their desires, to better tame you...
For more information, click on "Natura 2000".
Other gallery... other enchanting Universe with the room of Wonders.
Dozens of columns seem to support a sparkling sky with its thousands of stalactites.
The portico and its sentinels (photo) invite you to go back in time up to the palaeontological site.
Elephant tusk, cervidae leg, gastropods, elephant molars, you're at the very heart of a real animals graveyard, whose oldest remains date back to -400,000 years !
Since the now extinct species (woolly rhinoceroses, megaceros, cave lions, cave bears, elephant), and those who have migrated to other countries (buffalo, reindeer, wolverine, wolf etc...), the Gouffre de La Fage is an Open Book on our Planet, our Past, and hence on our Future...
WE WISH YOU ALL A GREAT DISCOVERY !
Opening periods
- From April 1st to June 30th: from 14H00 to 18H00. Open house. Closed on Wednesdays.
- From July 1st to August 31st: every day, from 9H30 to 13H00 and from 14H00 to 19H00. Guided visit during afternoons (except Saturdays).
- From September 1st to September 30th: from 14H00 to 18H00. Open house. Closed on Wednesdays.
- All Saints' Holiday: visit at 15H00 on Tuesday and Thursday.
- GOUFFRE RATES
Individual :- Children from 4 to 12 years of age: 6.00 Euros
- Adults: 9.50 Euros.
Groups :- Elementary Schools - Secondary Schools: 5.00 Euros
- Adult Groups + 20 pers. / - 30 pers. : 7.50 Euros
- Adult Groups + 30 pers. : 7.00 Euros