The Aven-Armand Cave
The entrance to the amazing
cavern of Aven-Armand was discovered by Louis Armand in December 1897.
Situated on the Causse Mejean. a limestone plateau close to the small
village of Lozere, it is possibly the most beautiful cave in the country.
Louis Armand was a blacksmith from Rozier who persuaded the caver Edouard
Alfred Martel and his colleague, Armand Vire, to join him in an
exploratory expedition. What they discovered was a 40-meters (130-feet)
limestone chimney reaching down to the ceiling of an enormous cavern,
with a second chimney plunging another 90 meters (300 feet) into the cave
itself. For the next 30 years the only way to see the cave was by
climbing down a rope ladder or by being winched down in a bucket, but by
1927 visitors could brave the steps down a 208-meters (680-feet) tunnel
to a viewing platform and a pathway through the cave. In 1963 a funicular
railway was installed, making access even easier.
The cave is vast, 110 meters (360 feet) long by 60 meters (200 feet) wide
and 45 meters (150 feet) high – large enough to house Paris' Notre-Dante
comfortably. The Virgin Forest, as it is known, is a forest of
stalagmites, more than 400 of which are more than 1 meter (39 inches)
high. Many reach 15 to 20 meters (66 feet), and the most famous of them
all, the world's tallest stalagmite, tops 30 meters (100 feet) in height.
Walking through the Aven-Armand makes you feel you have been transported
to some Tolkienesque wonderland. Thanks to the clever lighting that
changes all the time, some of the stalagmites sparkle like diamonds
whilst others, formed into weird shapes, suddenly loots up from the
darkness.
If you plan to visit the Aven-Armand
cave, take note that the cave is closed in December.
