Grotte de Labeil

Useful Information

Location:	Hameau Labeil, D151, 34700 Lauroux. Between Montpellier, Béziers and Millau. A75, exit 49 Le Caylar, D151 towards Les Rives. (43.8054596, 3.2687406)
Open:	JAN to 02-NOV daily 10-17. [2025]
Fee:	Adults EUR 12.90, Children (3-12) EUR 7.90, Students EUR 11.90. Le safari familial: Adults EUR 25.50, Children (5-12) EUR 18.80, Students EUR 21. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave River cave
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	A=700 m asl, T=12 °C,
Guided tours:	D=45 min. Le safari familial: D=105 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte de Labeil, Hameau Labeil, D151, 34700 Lauroux, Tel: +33-7-72-17-01-56. 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

Description

The entrance of la Grotte de Labeil was once used to make Rocheford cheese. A part of the cave is used by a nearby winery, terrasses du Larzac, to produce a cuvée spéciale. The cave entrance is a bar, restaurant, cave, there is a souvenir shop and a barrel vaulted cellar selling wine, including the wine matured in the cave. However, the small hamlet is not the place where the cave entrance is located, and its necessary to walk about 350 m uphill along the road to the cave entrance. There is also a large parking lot above the cave entrance.

The cave has a cave river, which leaves the cave at the entrance, also called source du Causse (spring of the Causse). The name derives from the fact that it is located at the southern end of the Causse du Larzac, the largest of the "Grands Causses". The road follows the valley to its end, goes up in serpentines to the cave, and then crosses the ridge to the next valley. The cave’s veranda offers a view of the vast Hérault plain and stretches all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.

Beneath the regular tour, there is a cave trekking tour called safari familial, showing some of the undeveloped parts of the cave. Helmets and lamps are provided, but visitors should wear old clothes and bring spare clothes to change. Those tours are rather short, only one hour and include the visit to the show cave. So they are not real cave trekking tours, they are more like testing how caving works and having fun, intended for absolute beginners and children.