Grotte du Chien

Dog's Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Royat, Clermont-Ferrand
Open:	APR to OCT daily 10-12, 14-18:30.
Fee:	Adults EUR 3.06.
Classification:	Blister cave. Dog's Cave.
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=20 min, . Video in
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte du Chien, 19 Avenue de la Gare, 63 400 Royat-Chamalières, Tel: +33-473-190550, Fax: +33-473-190550.
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

Description

This is a lava cavity, about 10 m high and 25 m in circumference. It has the same reputation as the Dog's Cave in Italy. Due to volcanic action, carbon dioxide gas rises from cracks in the floor of the cave and forms a layer, below which a dog will quickly expire whilst his owner can continue to breath the pure air in the layer above. Today this experiment is carried out with a lighted candle.

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

This French dog cave, was definitely dubbed so after the Italian and with the carbon dioxide source inside it has the same effect. Because of the identical name, the Italian cave is also called Grotte du Chien in French, which causes some confusion.

This dog cave was rather popular during the 19th and early 20th century. There are numerous postcards with black and white photographs sold. On the other hand there are no modern photographs or postcards on the web. Although we found open hours and entrance fee on the web, those are at least 10 years old and outdated. If someone visits this cave, we would love to here about its current state.