Time to move on from wine country. It was a long drive to the Loire Valley, but never-the-less we wanted to add a stop on our route today: the caves at Gouffre De Padirac. I’m glad we did, because it was as awesome as I hoped: a 14-mile underground river carved out a big cavern, more than 300 feet below the surface.
credit: Luc Viatour / www.Lucnix.be
To get to it, you descend the “chasm” (read: huge hole in the ground) using a combination of elevators and stairs. You walk along a tunnel for a while until you get to the river, with a small dock where guides with boats are waiting to take you further along. At the end of the boat ride is a walking tour of some amazing pools, waterfalls, and stalactites. Nature’s amazing.
After leaving the cave and starting our journey towards the Loire Valley, we discovered a tiny village that had been built against the side of a cliff too. Some of the houses were built right into the side of the rock; I wonder if the settlement dates back to prehistoric times.
