Grotte des Audides

Useful Information

Location:	9 km from Grasse, from Cabris direction St. Vallier, 4 km.
Open:	closed. [2010]
Fee:	closed. [2010]
Classification:	Karst Cave Jurassic limestone.
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=1968 m, D=186 m.
Guided tours:	Cave: D=30 min., ST=279, D=60 m. Park: D=30 min., L=800 m.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte des Audides, 1606 route de Cabris, 06460 St Vallier de Thiey, Tel: +33-493426415, E-mail:
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

27-JUL-1988	discovered and first explored.
1990	prehistoric park opened to the public.
1996	park modified and extended.
2008	site closed after a change in ownership.

Description

This cave is closed to the public for 15 years now, their website still exists, but it simply says that it is closed after a change of ownership. We do not know the reasons, probably it was not profitable, probably the owner died. However, it is very unlikely that the new owner will ever reopen the site, after it has been closed for so long. We guess massive renovation work would be necessary. So be careful if you find some outdated pages which still list the site, it is definitely closed!

Grotte des Audides was formed along a 6-Million-year-old (Helvetian) fault in jurassic limestone. The cave is located in Bajocien limestone in the lower parts and Bathonien limestone in the upper part, which is approx. 165 Ma old.

The cave is rather wet and the tour is steep, so be sure to wear appropriate clothes and shoes. The owner Herbert Reich built a staircase with 279 steps which leads down to the bottom of a sinkhole, 60 m below the ground. He worked for 6 months alone to develop the cave as a show cave. He also created a prehistoric park around the cave. The site actually has seven caves, and most of them were inhabited in prehistoric times.

A nearby Prehistoric Park shows the reconstructed scenes of the daily life of our ancestors. The park has six caves, most of them inhabited during prehistoric times. The geologically interested visitor will see several karst features like sinkholes and cave ruins.