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The Chauvet Cave

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Experience

The Chauvet cave is so unique because it houses a collection of works of art that are exceptional in terms of their age, scale and multiple pictorial qualities.

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Meeting the past 

Discovered in 1994, the Chauvet cave is located in a place called Combe d'Arc, at an altitude of between 185 and 198 m and lies 25 metres underground on the limestone plateau. It has thousands of paintings and engravings, including 447 representations of animals and 14 different species. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since June 2014. 

21 500 years ago, the prehistoric entrance to the cave collapsed, preventing animals and humans from entering. This landslide made it possible to preserve the cave and its contents in an exceptional way. 

With the desire to reveal to the general public these unique vestiges of the past, a replica of the cave was inaugurated in 2015. Located in Vallon Pont d'Arc, the Chauvet 2 cave is an identical reproduction of the original, allowing everyone to discover the history of our ancestors. 

12 MIN BY CAR FROM RIVES D'ARC 

ARDÈCHE