Choranche: Caves, Cliffs and Hiking Trails

Choranche lies in the Cirque de Choranche at the foot of the Presles cliffs, which are over 300 metres high. Cave tours, hiking trails and a botanical and culinary perspective offer different ways to shape your trip. Some specific details can help with your planning: the guided cave tour lasts about an hour, one hike leads from the village to the Gournier resurgence, and the “Au fil de la Bourne” trail is 33 kilometres long.

Landscape at the foot of the cliffs

The village’s setting in the cirque and below the Presles cliffs is a prominent landmark in Choranche. The landscape along the “Au fil de la Bourne” trail is another way to explore the area: the trail passes through striking scenery at the entrance to the Vercors and through the Gorges de la Bourne. It leads to the natural and historical treasures of the Bourne Valley.

The trail is 33 kilometres long and passes through Choranche. This gives you the choice of a much longer hike alongside shorter outings. The “Les Grottes de Choranche” route leads to an underground lake, a tufa waterfall and the Grotte de Choranche. These destinations give the route a geological focus, while “Au fil de la Bourne” takes in the valley’s landscapes and natural and historical treasures.

The Grotte de Choranche

The Grotte de Choranche offers guided tours year-round. A tour lasts about an hour; the developed route takes you around underground lakes and rivers. This gives you a specific time frame to consider when fitting a cave visit into your day.

Inside are thousands of very delicate white calcite needles. They can grow to more than three metres long. Their exceptional length and delicate nature make these formations a special part of the tour. The cave thus offers a glimpse of the underground landscape within a clearly defined visit format.

The story of its discovery is also part of the place: in 1871, residents of Choranche discovered the cave. They had long known about the entrance, but until then had been unable to make their way inside. This historical context explains the distinction between the known entrance and the discovery of the cave.

Hiking: a short outing or a longer trail

If you’re looking for a short hike starting from the village, a trail leads to the Gournier resurgence and its underground lake. Another option is the 33-kilometre “Au fil de la Bourne” trail, which passes through Choranche. These are two different types of route: a short outing from the village and a longer hiking trail.

The “Les Grottes de Choranche” route offers a distinct focus. It leads to an underground lake, a tufa waterfall and the cave. Together with the hike to the Gournier resurgence, it offers several specific destinations associated with underground waters. The names help you match each route to the destination you’re looking for without treating the routes as the same.

Plants, foraging and cooking

Les Aromatiques de Choranche combines knowledge of plants with processing and cooking. The educational tours cover the plants’ origins, properties and habitats, as well as recipes for using them. Guided foraging and cooking together are also offered. This practical, botanical and culinary focus complements the cave and hiking destinations.

Les Aromatiques de Choranche grows and processes organically grown aromatic and medicinal plants. These are used to make herbal teas, plant-based gels, seasonings and plant syrups. The tours and activities therefore focus both on the plants themselves and on how they are processed. This may offer a different way to experience Choranche than a cave tour or a walk through the landscape.

Plan the outings for your stay

The time and distance details help distinguish between the different options: about an hour for the guided cave tour, a short hike to the Gournier resurgence, and 33 kilometres for the “Au fil de la Bourne” trail. This lets you plan your stay according to whether you’d prefer to focus on a tour, a short outing or a longer hiking trail.

Discover more destinations: Quet-en-Beaumont, Saint-Romain-de-Jalionas, Oris-en-Rattier, Annoisin-Chatelans, Janneyrias, Siccieu-Saint-Julien-Et-Carisieu, Merlas, Trept

Return to the regional travel overview: Isere.