Grottes de Vallorbe
- Visit: about 1 h
Adulte (+ 16 ans) CHF 18 · Enfants (5-15 ans) CHF 8 · Senior*/étudiant** CHF 16
Sign up free — See who's going and message them.
Is this your place? Get the badge for your websiteAbout
More photos 5
1 / 5
Why go
- The Cathédrale rises nearly 35 metres and hosts a sound-and-light show.
- Switzerland’s longest cave straw measures four metres.
- Le Trésor des Fées brings together minerals from around the world in four rock-cut chambers.
Plan your visit
Prices
From the venue's website · checked 12 Oct 2026
Opening hours
Today09:30 – 16:00Show all
Don't miss
- Cairn lakeEnter through an artificial tunnel leading to the lake above the Orbe.At the start of the cave route
- Cave formationsLook for stalactites, stalagmites, draperies and thin, tube-like formations along the galleries.Along the cave galleries
- Le Trésor des FéesLook for quartz, amethyst, pyrite and malachite in displays arranged by continent.At the end of the route
- Orbe springSee the river emerge directly from the rock face.At the cave entrance
Know before you go
- The caves are open daily from 09:30 to 16:00 during the operating season. Call +41 21 843 22 74 to confirm winter access.
- During the winter closure, groups can arrange a visit by calling +41 21 843 22 74.
Tips for your visit
- Allow 1–2 hours overall; the cave route itself takes roughly an hour.
- Individual visitors explore independently, with guidance available through the official app.
- Groups can arrange a guided visit and an optional aperitif inside the caves.
- The mineral museum is included in cave admission.
Best time to visit
- Underground temperatures stay around 10°C year-round, with humidity close to 100%, so bring a warm layer.
Interesting facts6
-
The caves formed about seven million years ago.
Grottes de Vallorbe - Wikipedia -
Dye tracing linked Lac Brenet with the lower Orbe spring.
Grotten von Vallorbe - Wikipedia -
2,980 metres
The Orbe’s underground course spans 2,980 metres in a straight line and drops 228 metres; this is not the visitor route.
Grottes de Vallorbe - Wikipedia -
The Orbe spring’s flow ranges from 2 to 80 m³/s.
Grotten von Vallorbe - Wikipedia -
5 millimetres
Hollow cave straws are 4–5 millimetres wide and grow 2–4 centimetres per century.
Grottes de Vallorbe - Wikipedia -
The underground river flows through enormous boulders that fell from the cave roof.
Grottes de Vallorbe - Wikipedia
Shorts
-
SUBSA - spéléologie aux Grottes de Vallorbe. Explorez la rivière sout…Michel Demierre
-
Les grottes de Vallorbe 🤩 Visite féerique des Grottes de VallorbeRealdeals.ch
-
Venez visiter les grottes de vallorbe en suisse romandeFriskoMedia Photographe 📷 Vidéo 📹
-
Gorges de l'Orbe & Grottes de VallorbeK-Petite Forêt
-
Dive into Grottes de Vallorbe's emerald glowSwixplore
-
excursion au grottes de vallorbe avec @paturbexLili 911
-
Grottes de Vallorbe SuisseInspiraT
-
🇨🇭⛰️ Les grottes de Vallorbe dans le Jura vaudois.La Torpille
History
About 150 million years ago, this area lay beneath a sea. Over the next ten million years, roughly 200 metres of limestone accumulated, providing the rock the Orbe later eroded. Local legend tells of a fairy who promised Donat a century of happiness if he stayed out of her rooms.
- 1893A diver named Pfund descended 11 metres into the spring.
- 1961Three divers reached an underground lake about 70 metres from the spring entrance and named it Lac du Silence.
- 1964Christian Giurumello explored more than 60 metres of dry passage, revealing the old Orbe course and air-filled network.
- 1974The caves opened to visitors on 6 April, using an artificial passage that allowed entry without diving.
- 1986A second passage gave visitors direct access to more distant cave sections.
Show all
- 1992Le Trésor des Fées mineral exhibition opened to the public in four chambers cut into the rock.
How to get there
- On footAddress: Chemin de la Résurgence 1, 1337 Vallorbe.
- On footThe route from the car park to the cave entrance passes three picnic areas beside the Orbe.
Sources: Grottes de Vallorbe - Wikipedia · Grottes de Vallorbe | Visite d'une des plus bel… · Musée des Minéraux "Trésor des Fées" | Grottes … · Horaires et tarifs des Grottes de Vallorbe | In… · Grotten von Vallorbe - Wikipedia · checked 10 Oct 2026
- Website
- grottesdevallorbe.ch/
- Phone
- +41 21 843 22 74
Questions and answers
How many minerals are displayed at Grottes de Vallorbe?
More than 250 minerals from around the world are displayed in Le Trésor des Fées.
Who designed the mineral display niches at Grottes de Vallorbe?
Architect Bernard Verdon designed the four niches.
How cold is the Orbe water at Grottes de Vallorbe?
Its temperature ranges from 4 to 13°C.
How far did the first diver descend at Grottes de Vallorbe?
Pfund reached 11 metres into the spring in 1893.
What happened to Mouton lake at Grottes de Vallorbe?
It was drained so visitors could pass through it dry.
- See who's going — faces, not ticket counts.
- Write to someone who shares your interests — no swipes, no matches, no paywall.
- Pick the event or the place to meet at — and go together.