Choranche brings together underground lakes and rivers, a striking cliffside setting, and a botanical experience that includes cooking together. This gives you a choice of different ways to explore during your stay: the cave, trails through the landscape, and Les Aromatiques de Choranche.

The cave: guided tour, formations and history

The Grotte de Choranche offers guided tours year-round. The developed route goes around underground lakes and rivers; the tour lasts about an hour. This makes the cave easy to plan as a standalone activity.

Geological features include thousands of very delicate white calcite needles, which can grow to more than three metres long. Alongside the lakes and rivers, these delicate formations also shape the underground landscape.

The cave was discovered by residents of Choranche in 1871. They had known about the entrance for a long time, but until then had been unable to make their way inside.

Cliffside setting and hiking trails

Choranche lies in the Cirque de Choranche at the foot of the Presles cliffs, which rise more than 300 metres. Here, the cave’s underground landscape meets a setting defined by towering cliffs.

The “Les Grottes de Choranche” route leads to an underground lake, a tufa waterfall and the Grotte de Choranche. A short hike from the village also takes you to the Emergence de Gournier and its underground lake.

The 33-kilometre “Au fil de la Bourne” hiking trail passes through Choranche. It runs through landscapes at the entrance to the Vercors and through the Gorges de la Bourne; it also provides access to the natural and historic treasures of the Bourne Valley.

The details indicate different distances and durations: allow about an hour for the cave tour, the route to Gournier is short, and the “Au fil de la Bourne” trail is 33 kilometres long. This lets you consider a clearly defined visit, a short outing and a longer hike as different options.

Plant knowledge and processing

Educational visits to Les Aromatiques de Choranche explore the origins, properties and habitats of plants, as well as recipes for processing them. Guided foraging and cooking together are also available. These activities combine botanical knowledge with practical experiences.

Les Aromatiques de Choranche grows aromatic and medicinal plants organically and processes them into herbal teas, plant-based gels, seasonings and plant syrups. The visits cover both the plants themselves and their use in recipes.

When planning your trip, you can choose activities based on the time you have and your interests: a guided cave tour, the short hike to the Emergence de Gournier, the longer trail, or activities focused on plants and cooking.

Discover more destinations: La Côte-Saint-André, Merlas, Veurey-Voroize, Clavans-en-Haut-Oisans, Bressieux, Poliénas, Cras, Paladru

For the broader travel overview: Isere.