Cave diving in Roussillon and Aude
Mostly explorers' ground: short, tight sump series in the Corbières (Bosc, Mousque d'Aze, the underground Verdouble), the long sumps of En Gorner in the Conflent (key needed) and the Tirounère near Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet — Font Estramar, with its -312 m depth record, is closed.
8 caves · down to 312 m
All 8 caves
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barrenc de la Mousque d'Aze | 52 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Grotte d'En Gorner | 42 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Source de la Tirounère | 13 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Résurgence du Bosc | 24 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Font Estramar⛔ Closed to divers | 312 m | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Gourg de l'Antre | 12 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Las Doux de Soulatgé | 10 m | Sidemount | Full cave |
| Font Maure | 14 m | Sidemount | Full 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
Emergencies
- 112 (or 15 SAMU, 18 fire brigade); for a cave or sump accident call 112, which brings in the Spéléo Secours Français (with its own diving teams). Hyperbaric chambers: Clinique Saint-Pierre, 169 avenue de Prades, 66000 Perpignan (24/7 on call; 04 68 56 26 14 / 04 68 56 28 28, switchboard 04 68 56 26 26); CHU Purpan, place du Docteur Baylac, 31059 Toulouse (24/7: 05 61 77 22 92; daytime 05 61 77 22 95). 112/SAMU decides where you go. DAN Europe +39 06 4211 5685.
Access and rules
- Permission needed: Grotte d'En Gorner (locked gate; key via the owner's property manager), Las Doux de Soulatgé (municipal water catchment; every dive needs the town hall's permission), Barrenc de la Mousque d'Aze (private land within hunting grounds), Résurgence de Dourgas (access path: owner's permission). The Tirounère supplies Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet's drinking water — check beforehand.
- Information and clubs: plongeesout.ffspeleo.fr (FFS) describes dozens of sumps per département; the FFESSM cave-diving commission Occitanie Pyrénées Méditerranée (Maison régionale des sports, 7 rue André Citroën, 31130 Balma, 05 31 61 53 70) and the Pyrénées-Orientales commission (CODEP 66) run courses and discovery days.
Closed or restricted
- Closed: Font Estramar (Salses-le-Château) — private land and, since 2018, a municipal ban on the underwater galleries; specially authorised explorers only.
Gas and fills
- Gas: trimix, O₂ and 300 bar at CAP Port-Vendres (~1 h 20 from Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, estimate); nitrox and O₂ up to 300 bar at Plongée Bleue in Banyuls (walk-in fills: ask); air and nitrox 32 up to 300 bar at L'Argonaute near Toulouse. No trimix fill found in the Aude or Ariège — bring your own gas or a booster.
Water and season
- Water: En Gorner 11 °C, Font Maure ~12.8 °C, Font Estramar 17–18 °C and brackish. The springs react quickly to rain (Font Estramar within hours, the Tirounère within ~2 days, floods lasting ~12 days); low water in the region runs roughly from July to October.
Safety
- Character: apart from Font Estramar and En Gorner, mostly short, tight and shallow sump series with dry sections, climbs and lots of carrying; most descriptions date from 1970–2008. Bad air has been measured in the underground Verdouble (Gourg de l'Antre, Las Doux de Soulatgé; O₂ down to 6.8%) and in the Mousque d'Aze: do not breathe the cave air there.
Good to know
- Not cave dives: Font Dame near Salses (impenetrable fissures under a marsh), Gouffre de l'Œil Doux near Fleury (lake ~12–14 m deep without a passage; bathing banned), Fontestorbes near Bélesta (protected site since 1921; no dive exploration known) and Labouiche near Foix (show cave visited by boat).
Plan a cave diving trip to Roussillon and Aude
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.
Compiled from web research (the FFS plongeesout.ffspeleo.fr site pages per département and accident list, FFESSM Occitanie Pyrénées Méditerranée reports 2011–2026, Wikipedia, Grottomap, Made in Perpignan, Francis Le Guen's blog, club reports by the Entente Spéléologique du Roussillon and Les Trogloxènes, Agence de l'eau Rhône-Méditerranée, Côte Indigo, Spéléo Secours Français, Medsubhyp, sante.fr and dive-centre websites; Sept 2026). Pins from plongeesout (GPS, checked against converted Lambert coordinates) and Grottomap; ~ = estimate (drive times too). Most site data are old (1970–2008). Rules change — check locally.