Bourne Gorges

Beyond Villard-de-Lans D531 runs down into the Bourne valley, which narrows into the Gorges de la Bourne, a tremendous rocky defile in which the road is carried through tunnels and over bridges. Between Choranche and Pont-en-Royans two interesting caves can be reached from the road, the Grotte du Bournillon and the Grottes de la Choranche (in which is an underground lake).

Must-see attractions nearby:

Related Attractions

Pont-en-Royans - Choranche Caves

Set in the Bourne Gorge, the caves were discovered in 1987. They include thousands of long, clear strands of stalactite, described by caving pioneer Oscar Decombaz as macaroni. The unique stalactites are about 4mm in diameter and range in length from a few centimeters to three meters. The cave also rears olms or blind salamanders, which are the biggest cave-dwelling animals in the world and classified as living fossils.

Address

Grottes de Choranche
BP 7
F-38680 Pont-en-Royans
France

http://www.grottes-de-choranche.com

Hours

April 1 to May 31

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Open	10:00	10:00	10:00	10:00	10:00	10:00	10:00
Close	12:00	12:00	12:00	12:00	12:00	12:00	12:00
Open	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30
Close	18:00	18:00	18:00	18:00	18:00	18:00	18:00

June 1 to June 30

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Open	9:30	9:30	9:30	9:30	9:30	9:30	9:30
Close	12:00	12:00	12:00	12:00	12:00	12:00	12:00
Open	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30
Close	18:00	18:00	18:00	18:00	18:00	18:00	18:00

July 1 to August 31

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Open	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00	9:00
Close	18:30	18:30	18:30	18:30	18:30	18:30	18:30

November 1 to March 31

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Open	10:30	10:30	10:30	10:30	10:30	10:30	10:30
Close	11:30	11:30	11:30	11:30	11:30	11:30	11:30
Open	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30	13:30
Close	16:30	16:30	16:30	16:30	16:30	16:30	16:30

Tips

November to March tours run every hour. April to October tours run every half hour.

Guides

Guided tour included with admission.

Typical Visit

1 hour