In Tarascon-sur-Ariège

May 30, 2024

Grotte de Niaux

When I was planning this trip, staring at the map and wondering which way to go to get from Collioure to the high Pyrenees, I noticed Grotte d3 Niaux on the map near a tiny road highlighted in green and labelled “route des corniches”. Those both sounded intriguing.

Visits to Grotte de Niaux must be booked in advance and there is only one tour per day in English. The cave is “neither developed nor lit” and visitors get to see authentic paintings, not facsimiles. I bought our tickets in February, as soon as I knew our dates in Tarascon.

It’s also a rest day, so we didn’t eat breakfast at the earliest possible time and then just relaxed until it was time to get ready and go for our 1:15 tour. The site is about 6 km out of town, uphill of course. I’d created a route with RWGPS but hadn’t reviewed it carefully as I usually do. Oops.

Why did RWGPS route us up and over so we could bounce our bikes down these stairs when there was a perfectly good *level* route through town, which we took on our return?

The last couple of km to the Grotte were steep and we were both very warm and damp (from sweat and drizzle) when we arrived, in plenty of time to cool off, dig out our extra layers, and lock our bikes.

The reception/entrance building was designed by Italian artist Massimiliano Fuksas.

Photography is forbidden inside with any kind of device so you’ll have to visit for yourself. It’s an experience not to miss if you’re in the area.

The paintings are concentrated in the “salon noir” which is about a km in. The cave extends much further, but the visit only goes that far. Each visitor is provided with a (not very bright) flashlight to see their footing, while the guide has a brighter light to show the paintings.

After our tour, I took a few more photos of the reception area.

The entrance to the gift shop and reception is the door on the right.

After checking in, you are given your flashlight to use for the tour and meet your guide up here. You then go down the ramp and through the door into the cave.

Looking down on the village of Niaux and across to the castle on the hill.

There’s another cave on the side of the road with a fence across it’s opening and an info board. La Grotte de la Petite Caougno is its name. What that means I’ve no idea!

I meant to take a photo for flower of the day but it started to rain as we started our ride back to our accommodation so I didn’t. It’s a rest day, after all!

Tarascon-sur-Ariège is a bit of a gritty town, not tarted up for the tourists. Our hosts say they have a steady business most of the year.

No photos of tonight’s dinner but this is what we had:

Aperitif of sambuc (not sambuca). Sambuc is an ariégeois product and is delicious! It was accompanied by canapés of smoked trout.
Leek soup
Trout with toasted slivered almonds, risotto, and green salad
Cheese from Massat, our host’s home village (near which we will be staying tomorrow)
Dessert that included strawberries, raspberry vinegar, whipped cream, and something with a little crunch.
All of the latter accompanied by a local rosé wine

Needless to say, everyone at the table, Al and me and 5 French motorcyclists cleaned our plates!

Today's ride: 13 km (8 miles)
Total: 1,273 km (791 miles)

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