We have almost a full day between the day one of our relatives left and the day another two arrive. Besides re-supplying the AirBnB we have time to do something else and we choose to visit the Cerdon Caves which are about an hour away from the AirBnB. And it is even more today with some work being done on the highway as we approach the caves. To our surprise even though they are quite far from any urban centers the caves are very popular with the only parking lot with free spots being up high on the plateau above the cave entrance.
So down we go passing the other parking lots until reaching the bottom where the ticket office is, not the cave entrance as we expected. We find out that after paying for the entrance we have to climb again to the actual entrance, oof.
So up we go stopping multiple times catching our breath, luckily the stairs are in the shade as the heat is quite opressive. And then we finally are on top where we have to find the actual entrance which is not as easy as we expect.
We have to find some guy at a bar who checks our ticket and gives us a code. And then we have to give that code via phone at the entrance to the cave so they can open it remotely. Very spy like stuff really but we manage it.
Inside there are lots of our visitors, many with children, which makes it difficult to enjoy the caves or have a moment of silence. But the formations certainly are impressive and on we go in our exploration.
Most main formations are nicely lighted showing the main features like the transparency of some of them.
They are also named with numbers showing where you should look for the different animals and humans they are named for.
We do our best to fall behind from major groups while staying in front of other groups to have some quiet. This is not always possible but certainly makes the visit more enjoyable.
What we do not like is that we go down and down and down. This is not a level trail but a downhill one and we are not looking forward climbing back up to the entrance.
That is until we look carefully at the map and understand that the exit is somewhere else so at least we might not need to climb back up, at least not inside the cave. Here as we catch our breath we enjoy the pools of blue water lighted from below, quite nice.
Next is a huge chamber, really really huge where we notice an intersection and we understand after reading the map and the signs that in one direction is the exit and the other one is one way to an overlook.
We decide on the overlook as we assume it is less popular however that is not accurate really. However given the size of the grotto we are in at least it gives that impression.
We continue descending past an area where cheese was stored before reaching another secure door. This one can be opened but with difficulty leaving many people stranded on one of the sides until someone can finally open it. But we pass through this last hurdle and then after a short climb we reach the overlook.
The view of the valley is nice but it is quite hot so we retreat to the cave and then it is time to climb back to the actual exit.
We didn’t notice how far we descended to reach the overlook and then there is an additional climb to the ticket book where the trail ends. Luckily we do not have to climb to the entrance level again but we still have to get to the car through the heat. We are quite happy when we are inside enjoying the AC and then it is time to return as our relatives will be arriving soon and we have to pick them up from the airport and we still have the long drive back to the airport ahead of us.
