Cave and quarry diving in Wallonia
Flooded quarries around Anhée and Yvoir managed by the caving federation UBS (Bauche, Trou du Diable, two at Warnant and Denée), for members and their guests only, and the club quarry at Rhisnes near Namur with a covered cave section. The classic sumps of Remouchamps, Éprave and the Lesse at Han have been explored but are not freely accessible.
9 sites · down to 88 m · 1 suitable for an intro team
All 9 sites
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrière de Bauche (Saint-Laurent) | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Carrière de Denée⛔ Closed to divers | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Carrière de Rhisnes | – | Not known yet | Cavern |
| Carrière de Warnant (cross) | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Carrière de Warnant (prairie) | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Résurgence d'Éprave | 88 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Grotte de Remouchamps | 48 m | Small cylinders / no-mount | Full cave |
| Lesse souterraine (Grotte de Han) | 45 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Trou du Diable (Anhée) | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.
Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers
Emergencies
- 112. Accident in a cave or quarry: Protection Civile +32 4 257 66 00, say 'Accident Spéléo' (Spéléo-Secours). Diving accident: DAN hotline Belgium 0800 12 382 (free, 24/7); DAN Europe +39 06 4211 5685.
- Hyperbaric chambers: Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Centre, Rue Bruyn 1, 1120 Neder-over-Heembeek (Brussels), +32 2 443 18 82 (~1 h 15 from Dinant, ~45 min from Rhisnes). CHU Charleroi-Chimay, Hôpital André Vésale, Rue de Gozée 706, 6110 Montigny-le-Tilleul, +32 71 92 09 25 (~45 min from Dinant); sessions Mon–Fri at 8:00 and 13:00, adjusted in emergencies. Neither confirms 24/7 reception: call 112 or DAN first.
Access and rules
- UBS sites: Bauche, Trou du Diable (Anhée), Warnant 1 and 2, and Denée (where the UBS currently advises against diving). Only for UBS members and their guests, or members of an organisation authorised by the UBS; commercial activity, courses and drills are banned.
- Keys and booking: keys via your club president (clubs with at least 5 divers), a commission member or the UBS office (Maison de la Spéléologie, Avenue Arthur Procès 5, 5000 Namur, +32 81 23 00 09), by reservation. Book Bauche through the SCAN caving club, at least 2 weeks ahead, max. 4 divers.
- Foreign divers with the UBS: no certification required, but you dive under a club member's wing. A UBS club can insure you as a guest: €6 a day, max. 3 days a year, activities in Belgium only.
- Flemish route: the Flemish federation VVS has its own cave-diving working group (Werkgroep Grotduiken, WGD), which dives at Denée among other sites and issues its own cave keys (speleovvs.be). Terms for non-members and foreign divers: ask the VVS.
- Rhisnes: not a UBS site but the quarry of the dive club Centre de Plongée de Rhisnes, Rue de Liesse 20, 5080 Rhisnes, +32 475 72 86 32 (cp-rhisnes.be). Open Wed 18:00–24:00, Sat 14:00–20:00 and Sun 10:00–20:00. Fees and whether guest divers without membership are welcome: ask.
- Caves: in Wallonia some 60 caves hold CSIS status (Walloon government decree of 26 January 1995); access is set by management committees of authorities, owner, scientists, cavers and the CWEPSS. The classic sumps (Remouchamps, Éprave, the Lesse at Han) were explored by Belgian cave divers; we found no free access for visiting divers anywhere.
Gas and fills
- Gas: Nérée Diving in Namur (Rue Père Cambier 17, 5000 Salzinnes) fills air, nitrox, O₂ and trimix (200 and 300 bar), the closest trimix option. Dive Factory (Braine-l'Alleud, ~1 h) has the full range, including helium. Closer but without trimix: Villers-Deux-Églises (air and nitrox up to 300 bar) and R.C.A.S. at Vodelée (air).
Water and season
- Water temperature: no figures found for the UBS quarries or Rhisnes. The open Vodelée quarry measures 10–20°C depending on season and depth; expect colder water at depth and in winter.
Safety
- Mandatory kit (UBS): independent cylinders, helmet, primary light plus two backups, redundant buoyancy, reel, compass, cutting tool and redundant deco instruments; with a CCR at least one bailout with a backup inflator and SPG.
Rest day
- Non-diving day: 'Au Cœur de l'Ardoise' in Bertrix (dry slate mine, guided tour of ~1 h, 11°C); the Grotte de Remouchamps with a boat trip on the Rubicon; the Caves of Han.
Good to know
- Open quarries nearby: Rochefontaine (to -52 m), Vodelée (to -40 m), Villers-Deux-Églises (to -28 m), Carrière du Flato at Floreffe (to -14 m), La Croisette at Vodecée (to ~-30 m) and La Gombe (to -30 m). No overhead, so not listed as sites, but handy for a regular dive in between.
Plan a cave diving trip to Wallonia
Enter your team, with certifications, gas and configurations, and see right away which caves fit. With driving times from your stay, fill stations and an AI instructor who thinks along.
Compiled from public sources: the UBS (Union Belge de Spéléologie) and its rules for cave-diving sites, the VVS, the CWEPSS, S. Delaby on the history of Belgian cave diving, Geoparc Famenne-Ardenne, showcaves.com, the Société Spéléologique de Namur, Nérée Diving, R.C.A.S., scubago, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames and Wikipedia (September 2026). Map pins come from OpenStreetMap; the Trou du Diable pin is a likely but unconfirmed location, and Bauche and the two Warnant quarries have no pin yet. Depth and layout of the UBS quarries and Rhisnes are not published. ~ = estimate. Rules and opening hours change — check locally.