Grottes de Fontirou

Useful Information

Location:	Route de Fontirou, 47340 Castella. Castella, south of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. From Villeneuve-sur-Lot N21 towards A52/Agen 11 km, turn right towards La Croix Blanche, after 300 m turn right, after 800 m, turn left. (44.315799, 0.712534)
Open:	JUL to AUG Mon-Fri 10-18, Sat, Sun 14-19. [2024]
Fee:	Adults EUR 8, Children (3-14) EUR 6.50, Children (0-5) free. Groups (20+): Adults EUR 5, Children (3-14) EUR 4. Mini-Golf: Adults EUR 4.50, Family (5) EUR 10. Combi with Z'animoland: Adults EUR 16, Children (3-14) EUR 14. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	LED
Dimension:	T=14 °C.
Guided tours:	D=40 min. V=40,000/a [2000] V=12,000/a [2016]
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Grottes de Fontirou, Route de Fontirou, 47340 Castella, Tel: +33-553-401529. 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

1905	cave discovered.
1908	cave opened to the public.
1982	cave purchased by André Petit.
2013	LED light system installed.
2018	Ministoria museum opened.

Description

The Grottes de Fontirou is a karst cave with extraordinary speleothems. Beneath the normal stalactites and stalagmites it boasts eccentrics (helictites), aragonites, and various draperies. The horizontal cave passage is located 20 m below ground. Quite exceptional are some roots of plants from the surface, which grew into the cave because it offers humidity year round. Most are obviously from the 100-year-old oaks which grow in the wooded park.

The cave was discovered in 1905 by a farmer, Monsieur Huc, while plowing his field, when one of his cows stuck a leg in a hole. This was one of numerous shafts from the cave to the surface. He thought this could be a possible well and started to dig, but discovered a cave instead of water. After only three years of development he opened the cave as a show cave.

The cave has five main passages, two were developed for the public. The development was obviously done immediately after the discovery, as the cave was opened to the public in 1908. Probably the well which Monsieur Huc dug already had a staircase for the workers, so the biggest difficulty was already solved. The passages are level and show many speleothems. But there are also deposits of animal bones which either fell into one of the shafts or were washed in. Bones of beaver, reindeer, buffalo and bear were dated to be around 20,000 years old. The canine tooth of a sabre-toothed cat (Machairodus aphanistus Kaup), which was also found, is much older though. The large machairodont lived in Africa, Eurasia and North America during the late Miocene. The guides call it a sabre-toothed tiger (Smilodon), but that's a mistake. Both lived during the Miocene when animals were generally bigger, so the cat has the size of a modern tiger, while the tiger is much bigger.

The cave has a museum which was opened in 2018 and shows historical scenes in miniature. There are other sights at this location, which make it a popular weekend destination for families. It has an 18-hole minigolf on site, and Z'animoland, an animal park and amusement park is only 200 m down the road. There is a combo ticket available.