Lot · about 4 km from Rocamadour
Source de Saint-Sauveur
Temporary, until 31 Mar 2027
According to The Cave To Be the line beyond -80 m was cut (reported in September 2026); in November 2026 we found no confirmation that it has been repaired. Don't plan past that point without checking the situation locally.
Recently in the news
Le corps du plongeur décédé a été remonté hors du gouffre de Saint-Sauveur : une autopsie va être réalisée pour déterminer les circonstances de la mort ↗ladepeche.fr · 24 Sept 2026
- Max depth195 m
- CertificationFull cave
- SpecialDPV-suitable
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Fills nearby
- 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
- Lot Filling Station (Proteushop)Air, nitrox (any %), trimix (incl. 21/35, 18/45, 15/55, 10/70 and custom), O₂ 200/300 bar
What it looks like
FRANCE cave diving Source de Saint Sauveur (with eels) 2014.11.03 Source de Saint Sauveur plongée cave Formation 1ère 2014.11.03 Source de Saint Sauveur plongée cave Formation 2ème DCM Cave diving Source St Sauveur - Lot 3
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Videos and posts
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FRANCE cave diving Source de Saint Sauveur (with eels) 2014.11.03 Source de Saint Sauveur plongée cave Formation 1ère 2014.11.03 Source de Saint Sauveur plongée cave Formation 2ème DCM Cave diving Source St Sauveur - Lot 3
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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
You start in a large, clear spring pool at Calès, in the Ouysse valley, and from there the cave drops quickly. This is not a site for beginners.
Part of Réseau de l'Ouysse. Also in this system: Gouffre de Cabouy, Gouffre de Poumaysson / Pou-Meyssen
1 earlier accident or incident has been reported at this cave. Read what happened ↓
Profile and sections
You start in a large, clear spring pool at Calès, in the Ouysse valley, and from there the cave drops quickly. This is not a site for beginners.
Saint-Sauveur is one of the deepest springs in the Lot, and a resurgence of the Ouysse, which sinks underground at Thémines. About 750 m in, the branch from Cabouy joins it, and the whole cave system is estimated at 42 km.
Y. Dufour and Guy de Lavaur dived here as early as 1954. On 29 July 1980 Eric and Francis Le Guen stopped at -78 m, 350 m from the entrance; in the 1990s the teams of Patrick Jolivet and Hubert Foucart reached 580 m at -92 m. In 2001 Rick Stanton passed an opening beyond the old end and went down to -103 m (610 m); in March 2004 Jacques Berou, with Jean Gado and Fabrice Deruty, reached -110 m (620 m), and in April 2004 Stanton got to -120 m (650 m). On 31 May 2005 divers followed the passage 700 m to -180 m. On 16 August 2014 Xavier Méniscus reached -195 m, on a thirteen-hour dive with four hours in the decompression bell at -9 m. In 2018 Krzysztof Starnawski's team laid more than 450 m of new passage beyond -190 m.
Practical: many walkers visit the spring too; if it is already busy with divers, come back later.
- Depth and profile
- Restriction at -24 m, 60 m from the entrance (FFS; the topo board at the site gives -21/-23 m); -70 m at ~150 m (the FFS gives -45 m at 150 m and -68 m at ~200 m), -77 m between ~350 and 450 m with an air bell (cloche) up to -50 m; -93 m at ~600 m, then steeply down to -180 m at 810 m; -195 m in 2014, new passage beyond -190 m in 2018.
- Configuration
- Backmount/CCR, but demanding
- DPV: DPV-suitable
- Deep: -70 m at ~250 m, then a long level section; the restriction (~-23 m) passes with a scooter on the right
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR
- Goes down to 195 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
- Experienced divers only
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
From Rocamadour take the D32 towards Couzou, then the D39, and ~1 km down a rocky track (careful with low cars). Conditions per the FFS (2005): report every dive to the SDIS du Lot on 112, when you start and when you finish; leave only one car per group at the end of the track, the others by the maize field, and never at the water's edge; keep the gate on the track closed; no running compressors. In 2004 the owner was the Conseil Général du Lot, and the call also had to give the number of divers, their level, the start time, the duration, your mobile number and sometimes your maximum depth; keep the farm tracks clear (Swiss Cave Diving, June 2004). Check locally whether these rules still apply.
Around Source de Saint-Sauveur
Fills2 fill stations · nearest 13 km
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.
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).
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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.
Accidents and incidents
What happened at this cave before, with the sources. No names are given; read it as a lesson for your own planning.
- Fatal accident September 2026: an experienced British CCR diver did not return from a dive on 18 September and was found on 20 September at -88 m, entangled in the line in a narrow passage where clay had cut the visibility. The body was recovered on 23 September and taken to the Institut Médico-Légal in Toulouse for an autopsy; the investigation (gendarmerie, Cahors public prosecutor) is ongoing and no cause has been published. According to actu.fr it is the fourth fatal diving accident in this cave since 1981 (earlier in 1981, 1999 and 2011); the FFS also records a diver who died in 1986 after returning from a deep exploration dive.
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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