Playing hide-and-seek in the owl's cave

Discovering a cave around Millau is the goal set by a friend and her 8 and 10 year old children for the February vacations. There are the well-known Dargilan and Aven Armand caves, but today it’s a much more intimate exploration that I’ve decided to offer them for a snack, to introduce them to the underground world.

Caving is something that children generally love! In fact, my teenagers and my nieces and nephews, who are usually reluctant to take the Sunday walk, decide to join us for this family outing.

With a name like that, the Hibou cave has its share of surprises in store.

1/Ascension vers la Pouncho d’Agast

At the confluence traffic circle, we take the Causse Noir road (D110) towards Montpellier-le-vieux. On this winding climb, I’m tempted to stop every 100 meters and admire the spectacular view of Millau and the Millau Viaduct. Never mind, we’ll take the photos on the way down!

2/ In the middle of the climb, we park our cars at the 5th hairpin.

There’s room for 2 or 3 vehicles. After making sure everyone is properly equipped with hiking boots, lamps and helmets, water and the all-important snack, access to the cave is via a narrow path lined with box and oak trees. The path is steep, but easy to follow thanks to the markings on the trees.

After a lovely fifteen-minute climb and a few “Mom, when are we getting there!”, we catch sight of the foot of the Causse Noir cliffs. Another 2 or 3 stone and log steps and we’re there!

Two large porches, at the entrance and exit, corridors and more or less narrow gutters everywhere. We start by exploring every nook and cranny.

Inside, in the main corridor, we play at turning off lamps and our eyes gradually get used to the dim light.

Intrepid like children, I enjoy venturing out and exploring tunnels and windows, from top to bottom, on all fours or crawling, it’s a real discovery of the underground world. My friend, less at ease, prefers to stay under the entrance porch to enjoy the calm and magic of the place.

Wearing helmets and headlamps, we make our way down the deepest corridor. We arrive in a room where we can easily stand. We look around. A few sleeping bats hang here and there. We don’t linger to disturb them.

A few more minutes of crawling and we’re back in familiar territory, in the main corridor between the two porches.

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