Lot · about 1 km from Cabrerets
Émergence temp. de la Dragonnière
Closed to divers
Not accessible to divers: the spring is not on the CDS du Lot's list of sites where diving is allowed (November 2026). According to the CDS the other springs are closed, for example because the owner refuses or because drinking water is pumped there.
- Max depth24 m
- CertificationFull cave
- SpecialSidemount
Diving and fills
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Fills nearby
- Lot Filling Station (Proteushop)Air, nitrox (any %), trimix (incl. 21/35, 18/45, 15/55, 10/70 and custom), O₂ 200/300 bar
- The Cave To BeAir, nitrox and trimix up to 320 bar (standard 21/35, 18/45, 15/55, 10/50), O₂ up to 220 bar
Now at Émergence temp. de la Dragonnière
What it looks like
All 1 videos and posts
Videos and posts
From other divers, via YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. They only load when you click; after that, Google's or Meta's privacy rules apply.
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Other people's footage, not advice: how someone else dives here says nothing about what suits your team. Dive within your training.
The dive
Clay at the entrance gives zero visibility at first, but it clears after a few metres. According to the author this is one of the most beautiful in the Lot.
Profile and sections
Clay at the entrance gives zero visibility at first, but it clears after a few metres. According to the author this is one of the most beautiful in the Lot. After S1 you pass 'la Clef', a sandy squeeze at the bottom of a shaft, with your kit off or pushed aside. Between S3 and S4 lies the Salle Lucille (20 × 10 × 8 m), and further on the large fossil gallery 'Jardin d'Eden'.
The Dragonnière is a small temporary spring with little flow, but the system is about 3 km long, ~670 m of it underwater. Divers tried from about 1975; la Clef was opened in 1991. In December 1995 the grotte Olivier was opened, 30 m from the spring: through two shafts it comes out between S3 and S4, bypassing the first three sumps. About 500 m of fossil passage was found in 2001, and S5 was dived in 2002.
- Depth and profile
- S1 133 m / -12 m; S2 53 m / -6 m; S3 136 m / -16 m; S4 down to -24 m, surfacing at 282 m; S5 55 m / -2.6 m
- Configuration
- Small kit or sidemount
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable
- Entry through a 70-80 cm pipe, clay, and sumps separated by dry sections; small kit
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Sidemount / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 24 m (trimix or deco may be 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.
How to get there
Commune of Cabrerets, in the Sagne valley, ~1 km upstream of Cabrerets near Pech-Merle. The entrance is at the back of a built tunnel under the D13: a 70-80 cm pipe.
Around Émergence temp. de la Dragonnière
Fills2 fill stations · nearest 26 km
Lot Filling Station (Proteushop)
180 route de la Tuilerie, 46100 Cambes
Air, nitrox (any %), trimix (incl. 21/35, 18/45, 15/55, 10/70 and custom), O₂ 200/300 bar
Daily 9:30–19:30, year-round
About 20 min from the Ressel. Standard mixes ready to go; order custom blends in advance (WhatsApp). Also a dive shop (Proteushop), rental of scooters, lights and twinsets, and cave training (PSAI/TDI).
The Cave To Be
842 rue Émile Zola (D14, Bournazel), 46500 Gramat
Air, nitrox and trimix up to 320 bar (standard 21/35, 18/45, 15/55, 10/50), O₂ up to 220 bar
Open year-round (except between the end-of-year holidays), daily 8:30–19:00
Near Gramat, handy for the sites around Gramat and Padirac. Guided dives in 16 caves of the Lot, at your own certification level (air or nitrox without deco, or one trimix dive with deco). Also courses from cavern to full cave, sidemount, CCR and scooter, rental of overhead gear, a shop and accommodation. Contact: Olivier.
News
All (2)
Nearby
Articles about cave diving that name a place within 25 km of this site, but no cave by name. They're not necessarily about this site.
- Diving: death of a diver-caver ↗
More on this (5)
- British cave-diver Andy Rice identified after fatal 1,000th dive ↗
- Caving: a 43-year-old Briton loses his life while diving in a cave in the Lot ↗
- A British diver died in a sinkhole: his body found at 88 metres deep ↗
- A 43-year-old British diver dies in a sinkhole in the Lot ↗
- Lot: a 43-year-old British diver dies in a sinkhole at 88 m depth, investigation opened ↗
- Drama in the Lot: a 48-year-old diver dies in a famous cavity popular with cavers ↗
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines. Search for more news ↗ Searched automatically, last on 11 Nov 2026.
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