<< Our Photo Pages >> Grotte de Niaux - Cave or Rock Shelter in France in Midi:Ariège (09)
Submitted by TheCaptain on Thursday, 14 August 2008 Page Views: 22173
Natural PlacesSite Name: Grotte de Niaux Alternative Name: Grotte de la CalbièreCountry: France Département: Midi:Ariège (09) Type: Cave or Rock Shelter
Nearest Town: Tarascon-sur-Ariège Nearest Village: Niaux
Latitude: 42.819730N Longitude: 1.593660E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
43559959 would like to visit
XIII visited on 8th Jun 2022 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4
J_W_R visited on 27th Aug 2021 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 3
NickyD visited on 1st Jul 2013 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 3
TheCaptain saw from a distance on 11th Sep 2005 - their rating: Access: 4 The world famous cave, known for its tremendous paintings of bison and horses, is easily found just up a small valley to the west of Tarascon, and is signposted from all around, you can hardly miss it. The cave is up the hillside from the village of Niaux with its museum, and is situated opposite to the Grotte de la Vache.
The modern day entrance, with its rusting iron "artwork" is high up the hillside in an enormous opening, which was not the original entrance to the cave in ancient times, which was further down in the valley. Visits are year round, but only a few people are allowed in on any day to help preserve the conditions inside, so it is usually necessary to book your visit in advance.
TheCaptain visited on 16th Apr 2000 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Full guided visit Grotte de Niaux with Sean. Fabulous. So glad I booked this up last week.
TheCaptain visited on 2nd Apr 2000 - their rating: Access: 4 Grotte de Niaux near Tarascon in Ariège. Check out the world famous Niaux caves for a possible visit soon. The main entrance to the fabulous Niaux cave used for visitors is now further up the hillside than it once was. In ancient times, there would have been several lower, smaller entrances.
Kuba visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 5 Ambience: 4.8 Access: 3.71
The cave is up the hillside from the village of Niaux with its museum, and is situated opposite to the Grotte de la Vache. The modern day entrance, with its rusting iron "artwork" is high up the hillside in an enormous opening, which was not the original entrance to the cave in accient times, which was further down in the valley.
Visits are year round, but only a few people are allowed in on any day to help preserve the conditions inside, so it is wise to book your visit well in advance. Hence low Access score.
Information and Pictures
hominides.com
Note: See comment for acoustic theory relating to this and other French caves
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