Rocamadour and Padirac: The Cliff Sanctuary and the Underground River

Required Activities

• Climb the 216 steps of the Grand Escalier, which pilgrims went up on their knees and some still do, and on the sanctuary esplanade at the top count the seven churches and chapels round it, from the basilica of Saint-Sauveur and the crypt of Saint-Amadour to the chapels of Sainte-Anne, Saint-Blaise, Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Saint-Louis and Saint-Michel

• In the Chapel of Notre-Dame find the 12th-century Black Madonna and, hanging above her, the miraculous bell that was said to ring of itself when a sailor was saved at sea; then look at the ex-votos the pilgrims left, the ship models and the iron fetters of freed captives. Above the chapel doorway, look for the empty cleft in the cliff where a replica of Roland's sword Durandal was chained until it was stolen in June 2024

• Walk up the Chemin de Croix to the castle ramparts at the top of the cliff

• From the viewpoint at L'Hospitalet, pick out the three levels of Rocamadour one above the other on the 150m cliff over the Alzou: the village street at the bottom, the sanctuary esplanade above it, and the bishops' palace of Tulle and the castle on the skyline

• Go down the 103m shaft of the Gouffre de Padirac, take the boat 1,000m along the underground river past the Lac de la Pluie and the Grande Pendeloque hanging over it, and walk the last 1,300m on foot to the Lac des Gours, the far end of the tourist route