11 springs · down to 92 m
Cave diving in the Doubs and Jura
- Springs11
- Max depth92 m
- Water temperature4–13 °C
- Dive centres3
Now in Doubs and Jura (France and Switzerland)
probably poorFlow Loue, Vuillafans: High water, rising. 14 mm of rain in the past 7 days.
More of the latest in Doubs and Jura (France and Switzerland): conditions, closures and news →Diving and fills
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Fills nearby
- Fill stationDiveStation (Neuchâtel, Zwitserland)Air, nitrox and trimix up to 300 bar; nitrox and trimix only during opening hours. O₂: ask.Route ↗
- Fill stationplongee.ch (Puidoux/Rivaz, Zwitserland)Air, nitrox, heliox, trimix, O₂ and helium; 200 and 300 bar outletsRoute ↗
- Fill stationSCUBASTARS (Lausanne)Air, nitrox and trimix (per the TDI register)Route ↗
Why come here
In the Doubs and the French and Swiss Jura you dive big resurgences such as those of the Loue, the Lison and the Orbe at Vallorbe, short multi-sump dives such as the Source Bleue near Malbuisson, and deep exploration sumps like the Pont du Diable and Brive. This is ground for full cave divers, with Pontarlier as the base; most caves in the Doubs are dived in backmount. The water is cold (4–13 °C in the Orbe), so a drysuit is a must. The springs react strongly to rain and snowmelt and then become undiveable, so plan after a dry spell. Up-to-date information and access rules are scarce: check with the municipality and the caving committees beforehand.
Don't miss
- Résurgence de l'Orbe (Grottes de Vallorbe): behind the first sump lies the dry show cave, and upstream, after more than 600 m of fossil gallery, comes the Siphon des Marmites.
- Source Bleue (Montperreux / Malbuisson): a blue Vauclusian spring at the foot of limestone cliffs, where a short dive through three sumps brings you to an underground river that feeds a waterfall.
- Source du Lison: at the head of the Lison valley the water pours as a waterfall from a cave, from a spring that never runs dry and has been protected since 1912.
On a rest day
- Château de Joux: A fortress on a rock near Pontarlier with walls from the Middle Ages, Vauban's era and the 19th century; Toussaint Louverture was among its prisoners.
- Saut du Doubs: A 27 m waterfall on the French–Swiss border, reached by boat through the Doubs gorges or on foot from Villers-le-Lac.
- Vallorbe Caves: Follow the underground course of the Orbe past dripstone on foot, and see the 'Fairies' Treasure' collection of minerals.
All 11 springs
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source Bleue (Montperreux / Malbuisson)Not known yet · Full cave | 22 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Source de l'AinNot known yet · Full cave | 36 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Résurgence de l'Orbe (Grottes de Vallorbe)Backmount · Full cave | 55 m | Backmount | Full cave |
| Source de la LoueNot known yet · Full cave | 40 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Source du Dard (Grottes de Baume)Permission neededNot known yet · Full cave | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Source du Doubs (Mouthe)Permission neededNot known yet · Full cave | 92 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Source du LisonNot known yet · Full cave | 29 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Source du PlaneyPermission neededSidemount · Full cave | 32 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Source du Pont du DiableNot known yet · Full cave | 86 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Exsurgence de BriveNot known yet · Full cave | 65 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Sources du Cusancin (Source Bleue)Not known yet · Full cave | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.
Map
Dive centres and fill stations
3 dive centres, fill stations and instructors
Fill station
DiveStation (Neuchâtel, Zwitserland)
Route de la Pierre-à-Mazel 4, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Air, nitrox and trimix up to 300 bar
Fill station
plongee.ch (Puidoux/Rivaz, Zwitserland)
Route du Verney 18, 1070 Puidoux, Switzerland
- Air, nitrox, heliox, trimix, O₂ and helium
Fill station
SCUBASTARS (Lausanne)
Avenue du Grammont 18, 1007 Lausanne
- Air, nitrox and trimix
Order: partners first, clearly marked as partner; then dive centres by distance from Pontarlier and independent instructors by name. Not a recommendation: check what they offer yourself.
On this list, or should you be? Get a free partner card →Where to stay
Find a place near Pontarlier, Ornans, Morteau, Champagnole, Vallorbe (CH)
Villages that work well as a base for the caves in this region. Find a place for your team:
- PontarlierBooking.com ↗
- OrnansBooking.com ↗
- MorteauBooking.com ↗
- ChampagnoleBooking.com ↗
- Vallorbe (CH)Booking.com ↗
The links to Booking.com are affiliate links: if you book through one, DiveTripPlanner earns a small commission. You pay the same.
Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers
Emergencies
- 112 (France and Switzerland). Cave accident in the Doubs: the prefect triggers the rescue plan after consultation between the fire brigade, the prefecture and a technical adviser of the Spéléo Secours Français (SSF 25); CDS 25 publishes a contact sheet and an alert form, and there is the SSFAlert app. DAN Europe: +39 06 4211 5685.
- Hyperbaric chamber: CHRU Jean Minjoz, Service d'Oxygénothérapie Hyperbare, 3 boulevard Fleming, 25000 Besançon (~1 h from Pontarlier). Tel. +33 3 81 66 89 13 (or +33 3 81 66 81 66, ext. 68913). Mon–Fri 8:30–16:30, 24/7 on-call for emergencies outside those hours. One treatment chamber for one recumbent patient per session (as of December 2023).
Access and rules
- Access: for most French springs no diving ban is known, but no current access rules either. Ask the municipality (mairie) and the caving committees beforehand: CDS 25 (Doubs, speleo-doubs.com) and CDS 39 (Jura, juraspeleo.ffspeleo.fr); neither has a public page of a cave-diving commission. Known rules: Source du Planey (permission beforehand through the mairie of Anjeux, which has the barrier opened; phone the gendarmerie before and after the dive), Source de l'Ain (old rule: phone the Nozeroy gendarmerie), Source du Dard (only through the Grottes de Baume show cave).
- CDS 25 keeps a list of caves with access agreements and of closed caves, and points to the region's regulatory map (cartes.ternum-bfc.fr).
- Switzerland: diving the Orbe resurgence at Vallorbe (VD) is not prohibited, but since 2020 the municipality and Grottes de Vallorbe SA set conditions: park at the main car park by the La Dernier power station, no driving to the spring, dive at your own risk.
Gas and fills
- Gas: no public fill station for visitors is known in the Doubs or the French Jura. Trimix at DiveStation in Neuchâtel (~55 min) and at plongee.ch in Puidoux near Lausanne (~1 h 15), both in Switzerland. O₂ and helium: ask beforehand or bring your own.
Water and season
- Water and season: cold (Orbe 4–13 °C, Planey 11 °C): drysuit. The springs react strongly to rain and snowmelt (Loue up to ~100 m³/s, Lison up to 89 m³/s, Orbe up to 80 m³/s). In March 2012 (snowmelt, Loue) and October 2013 (floods, Lison) this stopped the diving: plan after a dry spell.
Rest day
- Non-diving day: the dry Grottes de Vallorbe (show cave at the Orbe resurgence), the walk to the Source de la Loue (Maison de la Source, open daily July–August) and the Source du Lison with the Creux-Billard and the Grotte Sarrazine (climbing at the Porche Sarrazine/Creux-Billard banned since 2021). Register the Verneau traverse (dry cave) with CDS 25.
Good to know
- Configuration: most caves in the Doubs are dived in backmount.
News
No recent news found about the caves in this region.
Searched automatically, last on 13 Nov 2026.
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