Cave diving in the Charente
Karst springs around Angoulême and in the neighbouring départements: the deep Touvre springs (Font de Lussac to -197 m, Bouillant, Dormant; drinking water, permit only), the 700 m sump of the Sources du Cros, small club sumps in the Deux-Sèvres and Charente-Maritime, and in the north of the Dordogne the Grand Souci (-184 m) and the Glane sump series.
10 springs · down to 197 m
All 10 springs
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Bouillant | 150 m | Backmount | Full cave |
| Fontaine Bouillonnante | – | Small cylinders / no-mount | Full cave |
| Source captée de Gros Roc | 5.5 m | Small cylinders / no-mount | Full cave |
| Font Creuse | – | Small cylinders / no-mount | Full cave |
| Résurgence de la Glane | 30 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Font de Lussac | 197 m | Backmount | Full cave |
| Le Dormant | 27 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Le Grand Souci | 184 m | Backmount | Full cave |
| Rivière souterraine de Saint-Christophe-sur-Roc | – | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Sources du Cros | 8 m | Backmount | 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 (or 15 SAMU, 18 fire brigade); say it is a cave-diving accident. DAN Europe: +39 06 4211 5685.
- Hyperbaric chambers (MedSubHyp, as of January 2023): CHU de Bordeaux, Hôpital Pellegrin, place Amélie Raba-Léon, 33076 Bordeaux (~1 h 30 from Angoulême, ~1 h 45 from Périgueux): tel. +33 5 56 79 49 24, medical secretariat +33 5 56 79 55 17, intensive care +33 5 56 79 49 04; Mon–Fri 7:45–16:00, 24/7 on-call outside those hours; two treatment chambers. CHU d'Angers, 4 rue Larrey, 49933 Angers (~2 h from Niort): +33 2 41 35 45 80 or +33 2 41 35 38 71; Mon–Fri 8:30–18:30, 24/7 emergencies outside those hours via +33 2 41 35 36 54. The SAMU (15/112) decides where you go.
Access and rules
- Access: the Touvre springs (Font de Lussac, Bouillant, Dormant) are Grand Angoulême's drinking-water catchment. Diving only with written authorisation; in 2009 clubs from outside the Charente had to apply well in advance to the agglomeration (then ComAGA), and according to the FFESSM (2018) only scientific and exploration dives are allowed. Underground rivers in the Deux-Sèvres (e.g. Saint-Christophe-sur-Roc): online request to CDS 79 at least 48 h ahead, FFS members only, code lock. Gros Roc: permission from the RESE water syndicate through CDS 17. The Glane has been a drinking-water catchment since 1959–1960. For the other springs no rules are published: ask the landowner or the mairie.
Gas and fills
- Gas: no public fill station with trimix or oxygen found in the Charente, the Deux-Sèvres or the north of the Dordogne. Bring your own gas, booster and CCR absorbent, or ask the local FFESSM clubs. The nearest known cave-diving fill stations are in the Lot (Gramat, Cambes), ~3 h from Angoulême.
Water and season
- Water and season: the Touvre springs are ~12 °C and discharge ~13 m³/s on average (monthly means from 7 m³/s in September to 17.6 m³/s in February): strong current and 1.5–5 m visibility (2008); in 2006–2008 the Bouillant was too strong to dive. The small springs and underground rivers in the Deux-Sèvres are only feasible at low water. Bring a drysuit.
Rest day
- Non-diving day: the trail past the four Touvre springs (no motor vehicles on the site); the Fosse Mobile near Agris, a ~8 km dry cave with the largest chamber in the Charente (gated; key from the Le Celtix bar in Pont d'Agris or from the La Rochefoucauld caving club); the Deux-Sèvres underground rivers for FFS members via CDS 79 (Champdeniers closed 1 November to 31 March for the bats).
Good to know
- Clubs: in France cave diving falls under the FFS (École Française de Plongée Souterraine) and the FFESSM (cave-diving commission). Locally: Speleo Libre Charentais (FFESSM club in Chazelles: cave diving, nitrox, trimix, rebreather), the cave-diving commission of GESMA in Angoulême (Touvre exploration in 2018), and in the Deux-Sèvres the Spit Club Saint-Maixentais and CDS 79.
Plan a cave diving trip to the Charente
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: plongeesout (FFS), Wikipedia, the FFS congress page on the Touvre (2009), FFESSM Subaqua (2018), the Spit Club Saint-Maixentais, CDS 79, BRGM (1974), the communes of Touvre and Magnac-sur-Touvre, Rivières de l'Angoumois, ABIMES, GESMA, the La Rochefoucauld caving club (ARSR), the FFESSM Nouvelle-Aquitaine club directory and MedSubHyp (September 2026). Much of the dive data is old (1951–2019) or comes from a single club report. Pins only from published coordinates (Gros Roc) or converted from Lambert (Saint-Christophe-sur-Roc); the Touvre springs and most other springs have no pin yet. ~ = estimate. Rules change — check locally.