Grotto des Canalettes
The Grotte des Canalettes , also known as the Grotte des Grandes Canalettes, is a cave located near Villefranche-de-Conflent in the French Pyrenees . It is located about 6 km from Prades , north of the road to Vernet-les-Bains . The access is almost directly below the summit of Canigou .
Personality and visit
It is an extensive cave system from which about 500 meters can be visited. The development is designed to be touristy for the visitor. The tours, which are also suitable for the handicapped, are accompanied by music and equipped with effective lighting. Above all, you can see sinter formations made of calcite , such as "curtains" , "spaghetti" , cauliflower sinter and stalactites of various sizes and sometimes of remarkable purity, such as a sinter basin that gradually filled with calcite and a group of unusually white sinter flags.
During the summer, classical concerts take place inside the stalactite cave due to the special acoustics.
history
The grotto is part of an extensive underground network of canals and lakes based on buttresses of the Pyrenees massif. This cave system, known as the Fuilla Network, was discovered in 1957 by Henri Salvayre, a hydrogeologist. Over 20 years later in 1978 he began to re-explore the caves with Edmond Delonca, also a speleologist. On May 8, 1982 they discovered the so-called White Hall and arranged for the cave to be publicly installed.
Web links
- grottescanalettes.com (French / English / Cat.)
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 42 ° 34 ′ 57 ″ N , 2 ° 22 ′ 15 ″ E