grotte de la salamandre

I happened to be at the Salamandre (a cave) the day they had special show. It was a total Jules Verne experience. One felt like they were in a different world amongst the majestically beautiful stalagmites and stalactites -- a really unforgettable experience. The welcome area was delightful too. Inside the boutique there is a vegetation wall growing from the celling -- all very green and eco.

After choosing to visit this cave on our holiday we were not disappointed. Being a new, it was refreshing to see a well thought out and environmental friendly attraction. Thought has definitely gone into minimising the impact on the environment while allowing access to an amazing spectacle that lay underground. The formations were plentiful and spectacular. The staff were Informative. Overall a very relaxing and enjoyable visit to a truely unique site and facility.

This cave is beautifully situated amongst heavily wooded hills and offers a lot to the visitor (the walk from the car park is quite long so wear walking shoes). The fascinating colours of the LED lighting gave the rock formations in the cave a strange beauty and there is an option to abseil down into it which I did. It is great fun and you get a great view but is a bit scary. We went a second time and saw a nerve tingling high wire act so it may be worth checking to see what else is going on as we noticed that they have concerts and dinners in the summer evenings. The children loved the little salamander who is the grotte's mascot and we all liked the whole place because it is not too big so you don't feel overwhelmed by commercialism.

Friendly staff and stunning location made this a great day out. After we spent an interesting tour in the cool of the caves, we enjoyed a welcome ice cream on the terrace. Admission and ice creams were all reasonably priced. Would highly recommend.

Quite a hike to the ticket office but well worth it. The cafe has a super choice with a excellent viewing point. The tour itself was an hour long journey of colour and music. we were unable to follow the guide's talk as he spoke very quickly but even so the view was amazing. There is a point where you can abseil for a extra cost- a spectacular sight to see.

We heard about the cave from a local friend who recommended it with vigor: now we understand why! The cave itself is amazing, and the state-of-the-art LED lighting only emphasizes the amazing structures. We booked the abseil-option (repelling from the original entrance of the cave). The 50 meter descent is perhaps not for the faint of heart, but our guide made us feel quite safe. The moment when the family (wife and kids 12 and 15) came dangling through the ceiling, at the best view of the cave: mindblowing! On top of that, the guides were great and service exceptionally friendly despite the pressures during high season. If we could give the experience 6 out of 5, we would have done so!

While on family holiday in the South of France we decided to visit one of the many caves on offer. We chose Grotte de la Salamandre because it is the newest cave to be opened to the public. To encourage the teenagers we decided to do the abseil entry into the cave. WOW what a way to enter such a spectacular cave. It was totally surreal, as we descended into the huge cavern below. Well worth the expense. The cave formations and lighting was outstanding, with the lighting changing the formation textures as we were guided through the cave.Points of interest were the cave, the work that went into creating this new public access and the eco building at the entrance. All of these were of an impressive high quality standard.After visiting the cave we carried on down the road and discovered it ended at a very nice spot along the La Ceze. Where we took a cooling swim. Our only regret is that we did not plan to have a picnic there as it was a perfect spot to do so after visiting the cave.

Hello,Thanks a lot for your kind comment. We are happy to share what nature gave us and we try to make that discovery a unique experience.Lots of new things are coming soon and we hope to meet you again. All my best,Charlie

Situated on a wooded 'gorge' just outside the village, close to the river Ceze, this Grotte has been developed to provide a very special experience for all family members. The route through the Grotte is quite easy to walk & the more adventurous can absail in from the roof. Whilst the lighting effects are spectacular the whole site is intended to be fully self sufficient & 'green', energy wise. The woodland walk from the parking, whilst pleasant is maybe a kilometer, but disable parking is much closer to the impressive entrance buildings.

My wife and I visited this fantastic cave because we were staying nearby in a gite. We did not realise, even from the website, what a unusual and exciting visit, it would be. It was a pleasant downhill walk to the buildings which surround the opening to the cave. The buildings themselves are worth a visit. The design is exciting and are far as possible they are able to produce sufficient solar power independently. Once inside the cave, the immense size was awe inspiring. We were taken round by Sandrine. She had a friendly and relaxed style, happy to answer all and any questions, able to explain in both French and English. Her capacity to engage the children in the group was good to see. This remarkable natural phenomenon is (in the words of the Michelin guide) worth a detour. A couple of hours well spent.

Hello,I would like to thank you for your so detailed comment about the Grotte de la Salamandre. They are the best reward we can get for our efforts to make our site attractive to all.We are permanently trying to improve it. Next year, we will have a brand new scenery inside, and a couple of additional features outside. I hope we will see you there again.Thank you very much,Daniel Lelièvre

Hi!I want to thank you a lot for your very nice and detailed comment about your visit to our site. This is a great reward to our efforts.I hope to see you again at the Grotte de la Salamandre for new experiences.Thanks again,Daniel Lelièvre

Hello,I would like to thank you about your - very nice - comment about the Grotte de la Salamandre.We are trying our best to make that site as exciting as possible to our visitors.Next year, we will have a brand new show and we sincerely hope to see you again!Thanks again,Daniel Lelievre

Hello,I would like to thank you very much about your nice comment on the Grotte de la Salamandre.We are trying hard to make our visitors happy and this is a great reward when they take a bit of their time to write about us and give us five stars!We hope to see you again!All my best,Daniel Lelievre

Grotte très riche en concrétions, draperies, choux fleurs, colonnes etc etc....outre cela on est vite émerveillé par l introduction des lumières de couleurs sur ces beautés façonnées par la nature, à ce jour c'est du jamais vu pour ma part.Tout est fait dans les normes de respect de l environnement, lumières led et basses consommation, les batiments d accueil et tout le site sont en autonomie, la nature n est pas abimée et respectée, l architecte que j ai pu rencontrer nous a bien expliqué les réalisations diverses, les murs végétaux sont très réussis, le mobilier de la terrasse en partie en chataignier font un beau rendu.Les handicapés peuvent profiter de ce lieu, tout semble très bien pensé jusqu à l organisation de concerts l'été.Il s agit d un domaine privé mis en place par des particuliers fans de spéléo, donc il y a possibilité pour ceux qui le désirent de descendre dans la grotte en rappel ou de faire une visite "coulisses de la grotte" si vous voulez sortir des chemins battus...Il y a beaucoup à apprendre....Evidemment si vous n aimez pas la couleur, vous avez le risque de ne pas apprécier, quoique......Uzes n est qu à 25 km alors un conseil, faites les!.... peu seront déçus.(nous avons eu la chance de passer le lendemain de l ouverture de la saison et d avoir une visite presque privée car nous étions 4, super!)site ouvert depuis 2012, donc allez y, c est très bien fait.