The Grotte du Mas-d'Azil: A Road Through a Prehistoric Cave
Occitanie, France
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+100 France
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1 day
The Grotte du Mas-d'Azil: A Road Through a Prehistoric Cave
250 + 100 XP
A kilometre south of the village of Le Mas-d'Azil, the river Arize has cut a natural tunnel 420m long and about 50m wide through the hill, and the D119 runs through it beside the river — one of the very few caves in Europe a car can be driven through. The Porte de l'Arize, where the river enters from the south, is a porch 51m high and 48m wide, and the cave as a whole runs for 2,100m. It was lived in through several prehistoric periods and gave its name to a whole culture, the Azilian, defined by Édouard Piette, who explored its galleries from 1887; traces of prehistoric dwelling can be visited in the upper galleries, out of reach of the floods.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Drive or cycle the 420 m of natural tunnel on the D119, which runs alongside the Arize for 410 m under a roof averaging 50 m wide — one of only a handful of caves in Europe a car can pass through, the other being the Cuevona in Asturias
2
of 5
Stand under the Porte de l'Arize, the porch 51 m high and 48 m wide where the river comes in from the south, and look at the cut banks of the imperial road driven through in 1857 — the earthworks that turned up the first archaeology here
3
of 5
On the guided visit, find the prehistoric dwelling level in the upper galleries, out of reach of the floods, and the salle du Temple where Protestants sheltered through the maréchal de Thémines's failed siege of 1625 — the peace of Alès required its roof to be brought down in reprisal
4
of 5
Walk out to the dolmens raised around the cave about 4,000 years ago and find at least two of the three named ones — Bidot, Cap-del-Pouech and Seignas
5
of 5
In the musée de la Préhistoire in the village, founded in 1981, work out what makes a find Azilian rather than Magdalenian: microlithic tools, flat harpoons, and pebbles washed with red ochre about 10,000 years ago
Drive or cycle the 420 m of natural tunnel on the D119, which runs alongside the Arize for 410 m under a roof averaging 50 m wide — one of only a handful of caves in Europe a car can pass through, the other being the Cuevona in Asturias
Stand under the Porte de l'Arize, the porch 51 m high and 48 m wide where the river comes in from the south, and look at the cut banks of the imperial road driven through in 1857 — the earthworks that turned up the first archaeology here
On the guided visit, find the prehistoric dwelling level in the upper galleries, out of reach of the floods, and the salle du Temple where Protestants sheltered through the maréchal de Thémines's failed siege of 1625 — the peace of Alès required its roof to be brought down in reprisal
Walk out to the dolmens raised around the cave about 4,000 years ago and find at least two of the three named ones — Bidot, Cap-del-Pouech and Seignas
In the musée de la Préhistoire in the village, founded in 1981, work out what makes a find Azilian rather than Magdalenian: microlithic tools, flat harpoons, and pebbles washed with red ochre about 10,000 years ago
Before you go
The cave opens daily from early April to 1 November, then weekends only through November and up to 20 December, with a window over the Christmas holidays; it is shut through January, February and March. The visit is guided and lasts about an hour, the last one starting an hour before closing, and booking is strongly advised — arrive fifteen minutes early, thirty in July and August. It is 12°C inside all year, so bring a layer. The D119 through the tunnel is a public road and open whatever the cave is doing.
The road through the cave is a public departmental road and the Porte de l'Arize is free to stand under at any time of year, but the ticketed visit to the upper galleries is not. Its 2026 calendar runs every day from 6 April to 1 November, weekends only through November and up to 20 December, daily except Friday over the Christmas holidays from 21 December to 3 January, and then nothing until April — so the galleries are shut from early January to early April, including the February half-term. The visit is a timed hour, booked online in summer, and it is not possible for anyone with limited mobility; dogs are not allowed. The free car park takes motorhomes during visiting hours only.
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XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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