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Cave diving in Hérault and Gard

Deep karst springs between the Cévennes and the Larzac: Gourneyras and the Foux de la Vis near Ganges, and with a permit the Durzon near Nant. Many well-known springs are drinking-water catchments or private land, and closed.

12 caves · down to 163 m

All 12 caves

SiteMax depthTypeCertification
Fontaine de Nîmes–SidemountFull cave
Source du Durzon138 mBackmountFull cave
Source du Lez⛔ Closed to divers101 mNot known yetFull cave
Source du Lirou7 mBackmountFull cave
Exsurgence de Gourneyras105 mBackmountFull cave
Foux de la Buèges (Font du Méjanel)⛔ Closed to divers111 mSidemountFull cave
Foux de la Vis104 mSidemountFull cave
Foux de Lauret–Small cylinders / no-mountFull cave
Foux du Mas de Banal⛔ Closed to divers163 mSidemountFull cave
Grotte-exsurgence de l'Avencas22 mSmall cylinders / no-mountFull cave
Rivière souterraine de Laval de Nize49 mSidemountFull cave
Système des Cent Fonts95 mSidemountFull 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

• Many springs are closed: Source du Lez (Montpellier's drinking water, no permits), Foux de la Buèges (municipal ban 23-09-2002), Mas de Banal (owner refuses), Fontanilles near Puéchabon (no permits since 2001), Font Estramar (private, municipal ban 2018). • With permission: Durzon (Nant town hall and the Larzac water syndicate; swimming banned), Cent Fonts (landowner's agreement, off-limits in the hunting season), Laval de Nize (key from the ferme de Ladournie). The track to Gourneyras belongs to EDF, which per plongeesout has never refused cavers: keep the track clear, few cars, no camping, no fires. • Water: Foux de la Vis 12 °C, Durzon 11–13 °C. The big springs react strongly to rain: the Vis ranges from ~1.5 m³/s to peaks of 245 m³/s, the Durzon from 1 to 20 m³/s. • Information: plongeesout.ffspeleo.fr (FFS) lists hundreds of sumps per département (Hérault, Gard, Aveyron, Pyrénées-Orientales) with access notes and rules. The caving committees CDS 34 (Maison départementale des sports, Montpellier) and CDS 30 (cds30.fr) show no separate diving commission online; the FFESSM's regional cave-diving commission sits with the Occitanie Pyrénées Méditerranée committee (Maison régionale des sports, 7 rue André Citroën, 31130 Balma, 05 31 61 53 70). • Gas: no public trimix fill station near Ganges, Montpellier or Nîmes confirmed — bring your own gas and booster or ask locally. Nearest confirmed trimix fill: Port-Vendres (~2 h 45 from Ganges, estimate). • Emergencies: 112 (or 15 SAMU, 18 fire brigade); cave rescue runs through 112 (Spéléo Secours Français). No hyperbaric chamber in Montpellier or Nîmes on the Medsubhyp list. Nearest: Polyclinique Urbain V, 47 chemin du Pont des Deux Eaux, 84000 Avignon (24/7 on call; office 04 90 81 33 00, physicians 04 90 89 90 22; ~45 min from Nîmes, estimate); Clinique Saint-Pierre, 169 av. de Prades, 66012 Perpignan (24/7 on call; 04 68 56 26 14 / 04 68 56 28 28); CHU Sainte-Marguerite (AP-HM), 270 bd Sainte-Marguerite, 13009 Marseille (24 h: 04 91 74 49 96). 112/SAMU decides where you go. DAN Europe +39 06 4211 5685.

Plan a cave diving trip to Hérault and Gard

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.

Start planning

Compiled from web research (the FFS plongeesout.ffspeleo.fr site pages and accident list to 2000, Grottomap/Grottocenter, Wikipedia, Nant municipality and Tourisme Aveyron, FFESSM Occitanie Pyrénées Méditerranée, Made in Perpignan, CSLG Besançon, Medsubhyp, CDS 30 and CDS 34, dive-centre and dive-shop websites, the Plongeur.com forum; Sept 2026). Pins from Grottomap, plongeesout GPS or converted from Lambert III (may be 50–200 m off); ~ = estimate (drive times too). Much of the site data is old (1980–2007). Rules change — check locally.