Grotte des Huguenots, Cave entrance in Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France.
Grotte des Huguenots is a cave with two entrances of different sizes: a smaller opening along the Ardeche valley road and a larger portal positioned at a right angle to it. The interior extends into the depths with multiple chambers and geological formations from various periods.
People occupied this cave starting in the Stone Age, with archaeological finds spanning from the Upper Paleolithic through the Bronze Age. These layers of remains show that the site drew human visitors repeatedly across thousands of years.
The cave takes its name from Protestant ceremonies held here in 1890 during a regional synod. This religious history remains connected to how locals understand the place today.
Access is secured with iron gates and visits are limited to summer months. Group tours must be arranged in advance with a guide.
In the 1940s, someone briefly converted the cave into a restaurant, an unusual venture for an underground space. A major flood in the late 1950s destroyed this establishment, though a small riverside terrace survived.
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