DiveTripPlanner
Sign in

Charente

Le Grand Souci

  • Max depth184 m
  • CertificationFull cave
  • SpecialExperienced divers
Add to a trip
Directions

Diving and fills

Dive here with

No dive centre guides here yet. Do you dive here with guests? Add your centre for free →

The dive

Around -150 m the flow comes in, and there, according to the explorers, the void is larger than a football pitch. The active river has not been found.

Poor visibility from dead leaves in the pool and clay on the walls, getting murkier with depth. Below -150 m your light no longer reaches the walls.
Source: plongeesout (FFS) – Le Grand Souci ↗
Deep shaft to -184 m: plan your gas for that depth.
Source: plongeesout (FFS) – Le Grand Souci ↗
Profile and sections

Around -150 m the flow comes in, and there, according to the explorers, the void is larger than a football pitch. The active river has not been found.

Dive history: -45 m (1977), -60 m (1990), -107 m (British Cave Diving Group, 1994–2001), -133 m (April 2002) and -184 m (November 2003).

Depth and profile
A single shaft, sloping down with small ledges, to -184 m (Nov 2003). Below ~-150 m the void becomes very large.
Configuration
Roomy shaft: every configuration fits, but the depth makes this CCR-and-trimix territory (estimate).
DPV: Not DPV-suitable (estimate)
Vertical shaft without long horizontal passages: no scooter.
Who can dive where
  • CaveAt least Full cave
  • Whole caveConfigurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
  • Whole caveGoes down to 184 m (trimix or deco may be needed) · doesn't decide who may dive
  • Whole caveExperienced divers only · doesn't decide who may dive
Experienced diversPermission needed

This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.

Cave map

How to get there

Spring shaft of the underground Auvézère in Saint-Vincent-sur-l'Isle, ~15 km north-east of Périgueux. The Auvézère sinks at Cubjac and rises here 4 km further on; the resulting stream (le Souci) joins the Isle ~100 m away. Access is not published: ask the landowner or the mairie.

Plan your route ↗

Around Le Grand Souci

FillsNo fill station known nearby
Caves nearby6

Going to the Charente with your team?

Marcel finds the sites that match your team's certifications.

Plan a trip
Something wrong, or do you know more?Depth, access, parking, the current situation: let us know.
Sources, sharing and disclaimer

Sources

Current conditions

Visibility, flow and water levels change quickly. Right before your dive, check what other divers report:

Share

Link to this page

Put this cave on your own site

Paste the code into an HTML block on your website. The block stays up to date by itself and sets no cookies.

Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training. 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), and for Le Paradis Blanc Divernet (2016), Aquatek and the Charente prefecture (Oct 2026). Much of the dive data is old (1951–2019) or comes from a single club report. Pins only from published coordinates (Gros Roc); the Touvre springs and the Sources du Cros from OpenStreetMap; the three Deux-Sèvres sites approximately at the centre of their commune (CDS 79, message, Oct 2026); the Glane from Grottocenter; one spring and Le Paradis Blanc have no pin yet. ~ = estimate. Rules change — check locally.