Grotte Prehistorique des Merveilles

Cave of Wonders

Useful Information

Location:	70 Route de Calès, L'Hospitalet, 46500 Rocamadour. In L'Hospitalet/Rocamadour, just 100 m from Hospitalet’s tourist office. Paring on P1, P3 or P4, 10-minute walk. (44.8051162, 1.6253677)
Open:	APR to SEP Mon-Thu, Sat, Sun, Hol. [2024]
Fee:	Adults EUR 9.50, Children (5-11) EUR 5.50, Children (0-4) free. Groups (10+): Adults EUR 8.50, Children (13-18) EUR 7.50, Children (5-11) EUR 5. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=60 m, T=13 °C.
Guided tours:	D=45 min. ( )
Photography:	not allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte Prehistorique des Merveilles, 70 Route de Calès, L'Hospitalet, 46500 Rocamadour, Tel: +33-565-336792. E-mail: Reservation: Tel: +33-7-88-26-84-78. Daily 10-12, 14-18. Maison du Tourisme à l'Hospitalet, Hôtel de Ville, Tel: +33-565336259. Email:
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

16-OCT-1920	discovered.
16-MAY-1925	classified a Monument Historique (historic monument).

Description

The Grotte Prehistorique des Merveilles contains 25,000 years old prehistoric paintings. The paintings show a horse, stags and six outlines of human hands. The cave was named after its speleothems, which look like local pastries known in the region as merveilles (wonders). It is also known as Grotte des Merveilles and Grotte Prehistorique de Rocamadour.

The cave is a karst cave which formed in limestone from the Middle Jurassic, the Callovian Stage between 165 and 161 Ma BP. In this era most parts of Europe formed a basing with a shallow oxygene rich sea. There lived corals, ammonites and ichthyosaurs, which can be found in the limestone as fossils. The limestone formed under the sea level and was solidified by the pressure of layers on top. Later it was uplifted, and the overlying layers were eroded, while the brittle limestone got cracks from the movement. Finally, the Lot river cut deep into the limestone and the underground drainage through the cracks started. The water widened the crack to caves, and when the Lot cut deeper the upper level fell dry, and dripstones grew on the floor and the ceiling. The cave entrances, originally the resurgence of the river, were now high above the river and dry.

The area was settled by our ancestors 30,000 years ago and as this area was not covered by the glaciers of the ice age, they were able to live as nomadic hunter-gatherers. They visited the caves most likely for religious or spiritual purposes and painted their prey, left their mark in form of the silhouettes of their hands, and left enigmatic geometric patterns. The cave at Rocamadour is a painted cave, although it is not as spectacular as the nearby Dordogne caves. There are hands created by blowing paint on the hand while it was pressed on the wall. Black and red paintings of horses and deer were also created. The paintings were dated to be between 22,000 and 25,000 years old and are from the end of the Gravettian period (33,000 to 22,000 BP). The site is one of only three painted caves in the Lot départment, which are open to the public. Nevertheless, the number of visits is restricted and prebooking recommended. Also, the same restrictions apply as in other painted caves, photography is strictly forbidden because cameras damage the paintings ( Smile Why taking pictures is forbidden...).

The cave is open from April to September, the shop is open from 10 to 12 and from 14 to 18. The number of daily tours depends on the season, there are five tours in summer and spring, but only three or four in low season. Also during low season the cave is closed on Fridays.