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A little history of la Clamouse cave

Inside the cave | Martin Souchay / CC-BY-SA
Natural cavity Exploration Legend Clamouse cave

Clamouse? A legend!

The cave was named after the Latin name Fons Clamosis, Clamouse.

In local dialect, clamouse means ″howler″. Well, why?

Because of the waters resurgence in the cave: fill with rainwater, they flow into the river Hérault with a big, big noise.

The legend says a young shepherd disappeared one day there.

When they found his dead body, in the resurgence water, they heard his mother screaming of pain…

Another version says an unfaithful nymph was locked in the rock.

Of course, she wasn’t unfaithful at all! Blamed wrongly…

The poor thing wept her heart’s content, tears which were falling like a waterfall. Then, she died.

The discovery of la Clamouse

The cave was discovered in 1945, during the dryness that dried up the stream of la Clamouse.

Yes! Because in the gorge of Hérault, the Clamouse waterfall never ran dry, generally. Never!

Except during this summer 1945 where speleologists Dubois and Vila discovered the caves…

The visit of la Clamouse

The visit lasts 50 minutes. We have amazing concretions (oh, even a big jellyfish!).

You can even watch a little film (6 min.) about the geological story of the cave.

Little advice: in summer, try to go there in the morning, to avoid queue.

And don’t forget your sweater, it’s 16 degrees throughout the year…

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!