Choranche: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

In Choranche, the Grotte de Choranche leads to a unique underground landscape all year round: guided tours last about one hour and follow a developed circular route around underground lakes and rivers. The cave contains thousands of extremely delicate white calcite needles, which can grow to more than three metres long.

Nature

Choranche lies in the Cirque de Choranche at the foot of the more than 300-metre-high cliffs of Presles. 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 of Choranche leads to the Gournier resurgence and its underground lake.

The Montagne de l'Allier mountain and the Serre Cocu summit are located in the vicinity of Choranche. The Gour Fumant cave and the Rochers des Mines summit are also located in the surrounding area of Choranche.

History and Culture

The Grotte de Choranche was discovered in 1871 by residents of Choranche. They had known about the entrance for a long time, but until then had been unable to gain access.

The historic site of Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Anges de Saint-Just-de-Claix is located in the vicinity of Choranche. The ruins of the Chartreuse du Val-Sainte-Marie and the Chartreuse Notre-Dame des Écouges monastery are also located there. In the wider region around Choranche is the Abbaye Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur de Chambarand monastery.

Plants and Cuisine

Educational tours at Les Aromatiques de Choranche focus on the origins, properties and habitats of plants, as well as recipes for processing them. Guided foraging and communal cooking are also offered.

Les Aromatiques de Choranche produces and processes organically grown aromatic and medicinal plants into herbal teas, plant gels, seasonings and plant syrups.

Hiking

The “Au fil de la Bourne” trail runs through spectacular landscapes 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 33-kilometre-long “Au fil de la Bourne” hiking trail passes through Choranche.

Those who choose Choranche for their stay may be planning to rent a holiday apartment.

For the higher-level travel overview: Isere.

Other destinations

Other places within the same destination:

Mayres-Savel, Moirans, Méaudre, Pont-Evêque, Nantes-en-Ratier, Saint-Étienne-De-Saint-Geoirs, La Salette-Fallavaux, Le Monestier-du-Percy.