Photo : Rama / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0 fr)
Grottes de Choranche
The Choranche caves open in the Vercors, in Isère, near the village of Choranche, at the bottom of a natural cirque. They develop in limestone. Speleologists know more than 32 kilometres of galleries, according to a 2009 count.
Their known history begins in 1897, when Oscar Decombaz explored the Coufin cave. The two cavities, Coufin and Chevaline, were linked in 1966 by speleologists. An underground river, the Serpentine, runs through the cavity forming pools and waterfalls before coming out in the Choranche amphitheatre.
The cave is famous for its fistulous stalactites, fine tubular calcite concretions that can reach three metres in length. It also houses one of the two captive French populations of the olm, a blind cave salamander from the Balkans, kept here for research and conservation purposes. The site received the Qualité Tourisme mark in November 2014. Visiting conditions and the activities offered change with the periods: it is better to check the official website before you come.
