Rocamadour, Gouffre de Padirac, Pech Merle- 3 Top-Notch Venues
in the Lot Department of France
Rocamadour is surely one of the most spectacular villages in
France or even all of Europe. It spans a cliff on three levels,
with the castle on top, the church and religious area in the
middle section, and the village about 500 ft. below the castle.
The village is pedestrian only and is very quaint. An elevator
is available to take visitors back to the upper levels. The
location was named after St. Amadour and reached its zenith in
the 13th century as one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in
Europe. Miraculous cures were said to occur for people who
kneeled at the Chapel of the Virgin. Massive crowds of up to
thirty thousand would come on days of major religious
celebration. Upon arrival, pilgrims would strip off their
clothes and climb up the famous steps leading to the castle on
their knees in only a shirt, with chains bound around their arms
and neck. A priest recited prayers of purification and removed
the chains from the penitents who were granted a pardon for
their sins and received a certificate and a kind of medal
bearing the image of the miraculous Virgin. Although pillaged
during the 100 years war and the Wars of Religion later, the
village was rebuilt over the years. For a truly spectacular view
of the village and surrounding area, one can take a hot air
balloon ride. This needs to be arranged in advance through the
local Office of Tourism.
The Gouffre de Padirac (gouffre means abyss or chasm), only
about 25 kilometers from Rocamadour, offers visitors boat rides
more than 300 feet below the earth's surface. Elevators provide
access and exit from the cave. The view looking up from the
bottom of the chasm before entering the underground cave is
unique, as one only sees a circular section of sky as if being
at the bottom of a long tube. Upon entering the caves, one
eventually arrives at the boat dock, and it is here that the
guided tours begin. There is a 500 meter ride to the debarkation
landing and the start of the walking tour, which features
interesting rock formations, and numerous stalagmites,
stalactites, pools, etc. One stalactite is mammoth in size,
almost three hundred meters high, and it took several million
years to form. First explored by the speleologist, Edouard
Martel, in 1889, the gouffre has been open to the public since
1898. The Grand Dome is an impressive open area, above which the
earth's crust is only a few meters thick. The tours are in
French, but one can get a description of the site in other
languages before boarding the boats. The return trip via boat is
another 500 meters, so the total boat travel is over a half
mile. This attraction is fun for people of all ages. It's not
often one is in a boat 300 feet underground!
Although Lascaux is the most famous of the prehistoric caves in
the general region, Pech Merle might be the most interesting to
visit because the wall paintings, some more than 20,000 years
old, are originals and are in excellent condition. One can only
see replicas at Lascaux, and in fact that cave has been closed
off for several years even to scientists because of degradation
of the wall paintings. Pech Merle is a large cave complex, so
the effects of having too many humans visit are much less than
at Lascaux and elsewhere. In fact there are a dozen other caves
containing prehistoric wall paintings within 10 kilometers of
Pech Merle, but all these are closed to the public. A maximum of
seven hundred visitors are allowed in the cave each day, so it
is important to get a reservation beforehand. One can do this
online at Pech Merle
Contact. The reason the wall paintings are of such good
quality is that the cave was closed off for thousands of years
and was not disturbed. Two young teenagers rediscovered the site
in 1922 (a discovery story similar to that of Lascaux), and it
was open to the public in 1926. There are about 700 depictions
on the walls stretching over about 1,000 feet. There are also
footprints left from a prehistoric adolescent. Here again the
tour is in French, but written guides in other languages are
available. The artifact museum is also worth a look. Not far
away is the beautiful medieval village of St. Cirq Lapopie which
is also worth a visit or perhaps an overnight stay.
Rocamadour, the Gouffre de Padirac, and Pech Merle are three
excellent places to visit in the Lot department of France. If
you are in the region you can visit them all in two days. Spend
one day split between Rocamadour and the Gouffre de Padirac, and
the second day at Pech Merle and nearby St. Cirq Lapopie. These
are really top-notch venues.