Grotte de Bara-Bahau

Bara-Bahau Cave


Useful Information

Location: 40 km south of Périgueux, 10 km south west of Les Eyzies. (44°55'N, 0°56'E)
Open: FEB to MAR Tue-Sun 10-12, 14-17:30.
APR to JUN daily 10-12, 14-17:30.
JUL to AUG daily 9:30-19.
SEP to OCT daily 10-12, 14-17.
NOV to DEC Tue-Sun 10-12, 14-17.
Last tour 30 min before closing time.
[2009]
Fee: Adults EUR 6.40, Children (6-16) EUR 4.40.
Groups: Adults EUR 5.50, Children (6-16) EUR 4.10.
[2008]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: T=15 °C.
Guided tours: L=116 m, D=35 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography: Audy Glory (1955): Bara-Bahau, Le Bugue-sur Vézère (Dordogne). [no publisher] 20pp
Norbert Casteret (1961): Ma vie souterraine, Mémoirs d'un spéléologue. Flammarion, Paris, 333 p.
Address: Grotte de Bara-Bahau, 24260 Le Bugue, Tel: +33-553-074458, Fax: +33-553-074458. E-mail: contact
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1951 explored by the famous speleologist Norbert Casteret, cave paintings discovered.
1952 opened to the public.

Description

Hollowed out by a vanished underground river and dominating the Vézère valley, the Bara-Bahau Cave was first inhabited by bears, which left many traces of their occupation. Then man in turn took possession 17,000 years ago, turning the cave into a shelter with an inner chamber and sanctuary.

The entrance chamber has been known for centuries. It was visited by lovers, walkers and vagrants and known as the Cave of Etchings. It was not until 1951 that the famous French caver, Norbert Casteret and his daughter Maud, visited the cave and discovered the prehistoric art treasures it concealed.

Bara-Bahau Cave is one of the richest repositories of Magdalenian art. Horses, bison, aurochs, deer, bears, human hands and enigmatic signs have been sketched by stone age man with using only a flint tool.


The cave is scheduled as a National Monument.


Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.