Gouffre de Padirac

Padirac

The Gouffre de Padirac opens onto the open causse as a collapse sinkhole some thirty metres in diameter, at the bottom of which an underground river flows 103 m below the surface. The peasants of Quercy called it the 'Devil's hole' and avoided it: dead animals were thrown into it, and it was said that flames rose from it at night. The best-known legend features Saint Martin, walking on his mule in search of souls to save, when Satan appeared before him and struck the ground, opening the chasm to block his path. The devil then offered him a challenge: cross the abyss, and the souls he was carrying off to hell would be given back. Spurring his mule, the saint cleared it in a prodigious leap, leaving in the rock the hoof-print still shown today; defeated, the devil plunged back underground through this opening, held ever since to be a gateway to hell. A second tradition holds that soldiers of the Black Prince hid a treasure wrapped in calfskin at the bottom of the chasm during the Hundred Years' War: when Édouard-Alfred Martel bought the land after his 1889 exploration, the owners had a clause written into the contract guaranteeing them a share if the treasure was ever found. The site opened to the public on 1 November 1898 and today receives more than half a million visitors a year.

Grand Sud Insolite — Les légendes du gouffre de Padirac ↗

Getting there : In the commune of Padirac, north of Gramat, on the Causse de Quercy; large paid car park and ticket office on site, online booking strongly recommended in summer. Open from late March to early November. The visit takes in lifts and stairs, then a boat trip on the underground river, about 1 h 30; 2.5 km of developed galleries, constant temperature around 13°C, bring a jacket.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

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