La Grotte de Glace La Grave La Meije


Useful Information

Location: Place du Téléphérique, 05320 La Grave.
From Grenoble RD1091 80 km, cable car on the right, signposted.
(45.007780, 6.264330)
Open: 17-DEC to 01-MAY daily 9-16:30.
JUL to 03-SEP daily 7:30-15:30.
04-SEP to SEP Thu-Sun 8:30-15:30.
[2023]
Fee: Adults EUR 6, Children EUR 5.
[2023]
Classification: Subterraneaglacier grotto
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: A=3,200 m asl.
Guided tours: self guided. V=30,000/a [1993]
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:  
Address: La Grotte de Glace La Grave La Meije.
Société des Grottes de la Meije (SDGM), Les Hières, 05320 La Grave, 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

1992 Bernard Lambolez and Bruno Gardent go to the cave of the "Mer de Glace" and have the idea to built such a cave at home.
1993 Société des Grottes de la Meije and first grotto at La Grave La Meije created and inaugurated, topic of the artworks How humanity started.
1996 topic of the artworks The Christian – Jewish history.
1999 topic of the artworks 20000 miles under the sea.
2003 topic of the artworks Fairy world.
2005 topic of the artworks Mountain animals.
2010 topic of the artworks What a surprise to see a penguin meeting animals from the Savanna, maybe it’s the greenhouse effect.
2017 topic of the artworks Mountain animals.

Description

La Grotte de Glace La Grave La Meije is located on the Glacier de la Girose It is one of six glacier grottoes created and operated by the Société des Grottes de la Meije (SDGM), which was founded by the two high mountain guides, Bernard Lambolez and Bruno Gardent in 1992. In 1992 the two visited the grotto SubterraneaGrotte de la Mer de Glace and had the idea to build such a cave at home. This was te first grotto they created, and it was immediately very popular, during the first summer it had 30,000 visitors.

Actually, while ice cave is often used for such grottoes, they are actually called glacier grotto. Ice caves are natural caves in rock which contain ice, glacier grottoes are dug, hence they are grottoes, inside a glacier, hence glacier grotto.

As it is located on top of the mountain, at the ski area, it is necessary to get there first. Of course, you could walk up, if you have the right equipment, but as most people will either be skiing and just make a break visiting the grotto, we guess they already have a ski pass. To get to the cave you start at La Grave and take the Téléphérique (cable car) which takes you in 30 minutes to the summit, from here it's only a short walk. There are additional costs for the cable car. As the cave is located inside the glacier it is open all year on the same days as the cable car. However, there are few days in June when the cave is closed despite the cable car running. As most visitors are skiers, it's possible to visit the cave with skiing boots, though we do not recommend it. We recommend to bring walking shoes to change, it makes the visit far more pleasant.