The funicular allows an easy access to the cave, equipped for handicapped people. Audio-video presentation : history of the cave Competent guides comment the visit.
Outside : snack-bar, gift shop, picnic area, large car-park
Seen from the plateau, the Swallow-hole looks like a funnel, with a diameter of 10 to 15 metres and a depth of 4 to 7 metres.
A 75 metre vertical shaft drops down from this opening to the main chamber.
The main chamber is oval and measures 120 metres long and 60 metres wide. It lies on a slope and its greatest depth from the top of the shaft is 112 metres. The main chamber has a volume of around 200 000 m³.
The upper part of the chamber is çovered in all kinds of debris and fallen earth that has dropped down from the surface. The lower part contains a forest of stalagmites from 1 to 30 metres high. This group of stone cypresses has been baptised "Forêt Vierge" (Virgin Forest).
At the end of the cavern, a second big shaft drops down 87 metres lower, where it is obstructed by stones and clay, which have slid into place over time. On his fifth visit on 26 May 1926, Edouard Alfred Martel exclaimed: "Nothing like it is known at the present time anywhere else underground!".
Situated at an altitude of 970 metres, the Aven Armand is a natural shaft in the Causse Méjean plateau in the Lozère region. This Jurassic limestone plateau lies between the Tarn and Jonte river canyons. The Aven Armand is part of the Hures la Parade commune (Lozère). The Aven Armand forms part of the commune of Heads the Parade (Lozere). On the Causse Mejean between Meyrueis and Sainte Enimie, it is easy to reach it by using the D996 secondary road. View the access map