Cave Art of the Dordogne

This morning we travel south to Les Eyzies making some important stops along the way. Our first is to the small but excellent Museum of Prehistory at Lussac-les-Chateau dedicated to the local prehistory. We continue to Roc-de-Sers, an important site where a series of sculpted, engraved and painted limestone blocks were discovered (replicas are in situ) and La Chaire à Calvin, a rock shelter decorated with monumental parietal sculptures dating from the Upper Palaeolithic period. We end the day a Les Eyzies where we stay for the remainder of the tour.

We start out at the rock shelter of Cap Blanc, a rare example of Ice Age sculpted bas-reliefs and the best still in situ which are open to the public. After lunch we visit the Font de Gaume, the only decorated cave in France with multicoloured paintings which remains open to the public. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is home to over 200 representations of animals. Next, we head to the Musée de la Préhistoire and finally the Musée de l’Abri de Cro-Magnon.

This morning we visit the Lascaux 4 centre, enjoying the facsimile of the now closed to the public cave. Afterwards we head to the park of Le Thot. Animals bred and kept here are examples of those that would have existed in the Ice Age. We have an independent lunch in Montignac, before dedicating the afternoon to the Lascaux 2 cave. Lascaux is the most famous and spectacular of all decorated caves, with hundreds of paintings and 1,500 engravings, best known for its awe-inspiring depictions of aurochs, horses and deer.

We travel by electric train into the cave system of Rouffignac, more than five miles long. Known as the Cave of the Hundred Mammoths, about one-third of all mammoth depictions known are found in this cave. In this cave there is also evidence of not only human existence, but scratch marks from cave bears too. Our next stop will be to the fascinating site of Laugerie Haute, with remains of occupation dating from the Upper Palaeolithic. We will end the day at the small rock shelter known as Abri du Poisson.

Our first visit is to Cougnac, two caves are found here which contain the claw-marks of cave bears and fascinating stalactite and stalagmite formations. We also see paintings of mammoths, ibex, human type figures and three megaloceros, many of which take advantage of the natural shapes of the cave wall.  We continue to Pech Merle, with painted black outlines of aurochs, mammoth, spotted-horses, geometric shapes and handprints. This cave reveals a full repertoire of cave art techniques and material - it is truly thought-provoking and an unforgettable experience.

We make our way to Bordeaux airport for our return flights back to London.