Grottes de Bétharram

The Bétharram Caves are the most beautiful in Europe and certainly the most curious to visit: they offer visitors, through their variety, the key to the formation of almost all caves that are dead or in full activity.

The visited part of the caves extends over 2.8 km with an impressive drop of 80 m. The underground course of the river is 3.5 km.

The visitor enters the mountain through a natural orifice: the upper part includes vast rooms rich in concretions.
The chasm connects this floor to that of the river. The lower part follows a natural fault, witness to the work of the water.

Visitors exit through an artificial tunnel dug from 1913 to 1924.

The Bétharram Caves are located in two departments: you enter through the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and come out through the Hautes-Pyrénées.

Currently, visitors are welcomed in a large shaded car park with 500 spaces for passenger cars. A shuttle then takes them to the entrance to the caves located 2 km above.

After completing the visit, the little train that transports them stops in front of a magnificent building built in 1924, one of the very first in France in reinforced concrete.

In this hall, souvenirs, minerals, fossils and postcards are offered for the appreciation of the visitor.

The underground circuit ends near the parking lot for cars and coaches.

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