Lot · about 2 km from Marcilhac-sur-Célé
Émergence du Ressel
- Max depth83 m
- CertificationIntro to cave (first section)
- SpecialDPV-suitable
Diving and fills
Dive here with
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
What it looks like
Plongée Souterraine au Ressel avec l'A7S2 Emergence du Ressel 4K Diving Ressel Cave, Lot, France - June 2022 PLONGEE SPELEO AU RESSEL - VISITE DU PUIT n°04
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Plongée Souterraine au Ressel avec l'A7S2 Emergence du Ressel 4K Diving Ressel Cave, Lot, France - June 2022 PLONGEE SPELEO AU RESSEL - VISITE DU PUIT n°04
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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
At ~-3 m the murky Célé water gives way to clear spring water, and a gravel slope drops to ~-10 m. The main gallery is 8–12 m wide and 3–5 m high.
Profile and sections
At ~-3 m the murky Célé water gives way to clear spring water, and a gravel slope drops to ~-10 m. The main gallery is 8–12 m wide and 3–5 m high. The T is at ~180 m: the left branch is lower, the right one ~2 m high. Two dives are possible from this first T; the Ressel is the region's training cave.
The first known dives were in 1968, when Debras and Martin of the Groupe Spéléo Auvergnat got 150 m in. In August 1975 J.-L. Camus explored the cave to 300 m and -30 m, stopping at the top of the shaft; in August 1977 J.-L. Fantoli and C. Touloumdjian reached -45 m at 350 m from the entrance. Jochen Hasenmayer went much further in 1980–1981: on 22 April 1981 he passed -60 m and found the upstream passage at 1,135 m, and on 26 April 1981 he made a 10 hour 15 minute dive with a scooter. Olivier Isler and a Franco-British team were the first through S1. In May 2011 Rick Stanton and John Volanthen reached 6.3 km in a two-day dive, 805 m beyond the end at the time.
S1 is ~1,850 m long; then come S2 (400 m), S3 (15 m), S4 (290 m) and S5 (1,340 m, max -25 m).
Practical: the cave has its own car park. The Source du Cunhac in the Lot opposite Cajarc, about 14 km away, is also called Ressel II by divers, but it is a different cave.
- Depth and profile
- -12 to -78 m per the FFS (-83 m in Puits 7 per the Schafheutle survey); Puits 4 at -45 m
- Intro level
- First section up to the first T, within the limits of your intro certification.
- Configuration
- All configurations
- DPV: DPV-suitable
- Large, deep passages; scooters common for longer dives and the deep sections beyond Puits 4
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Cavern zone / easier part: at least Intro to cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 83 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
D41 from Cabrerets through Marcilhac, then ~1 km further. From the roadside car park two steep paths lead down to the bank; the entrance is in the riverbed ~60 m upstream. Leave the site clean; toilets in the village.
Around Émergence du Ressel
Fills2 fill stations · nearest 14 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.
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News
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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.
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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