Bédeilhac cave

Set off with your family to discover the giantess ! An extraordinary underground landscape with its huge rooms, its spectacular concretions dating back several million years and its incredible prehistoric remains!

Pendant 1h30 guided tour, go on a trip and meet Cro-Magnon who, 16000 years ago, decorated the cave, using various techniques, as astonishing as they are rare, such as painting, engraving or modeling on clay... He even left the imprint of his hand !

A remarkable cave

Listed as a Historic Monument in 1929, the Bédeilhac cave is remarkable.

Remarkable for its extraordinary underground landscape with huge rooms and spectacular concretions dating back millions of years.

Remarkable also because it allows you to meet the men and women of Cro-Magnon who, 16 years ago, decorated the cave, using various techniques: painting, drawing, engraving, modeling on clay ... and even imprint hand.

Finally, remarkable because it served as an industrial site during the 1940-1945 War.

During your visit, the vast galleries, their volume and the subterranean landscape combine large columns and imposing concretions, impress both young and old.

Depending on the lighting, the visit reveals the patient work of water: mysterious shapes appear to glances plunged into darkness and allow everyone to give free rein to their imagination in front of the extraordinary sculptures of nature.

But to sum up the Bédeilhac cave to its geology alone would be reductive. Like the caves of Mas-d'Azil or Niaux, the cave is a large one from Prehistory. Here too, our ancestors lived, painted, decorated, engraved and even modeled clay, a technique that was absolutely rare at the time. The visit recounts their life, their still enigmatic works for a first encounter with prehistory, intended for all audiences.

Finally and more recently, the Bédeilhac cave is also known as an industrial site. At the start of World War II, Emile Dewoitine, an aircraft manufacturer in Toulouse, had the idea of ​​setting up his assembly plants at the entrance of a cave. He set his sights on the Bédeilhac cave and after many hazards, it was used for storage and repair of devices.

a restaurant nearby

Where to eat at the Bédeilhac cave?

Complete your day with a visit to the Prehistory Park and take the opportunity to have lunch in its restaurant! Near the cave, the restaurant at the Parc de la Préhistoire offers you a friendly setting and a panoramic view of its lakes and waterfalls.
In accordance with the gastronomic traditions of Ariège, we favor local cuisine with quality products in short circuits and offer you a wide choice of menus from 14 to 26 €.

Tickets

• Booking is recommended
• Online ticket office accessible 24 hours a day

Online reservation required.
Different visit times are possible, more information on online ticketing.

By car : from Toulouse take the A61 motorway towards Montpellier. Then take the direction Foix by the A66 motorway. Go past Foix on the RN 20, exit at Tarascon-sur-Ariège. Take the D618 towards Saurat, Massat, Col de Port. The cave is located in the town of Bédeilhac and Aynat.

+ info

your opinion