A story of rocks and pebbles

Day 1: Morning arrival at your accommodation center. Settle in at the center. In the late morning, visit Talcanéo, an immersive, fun museum revealing all the secrets of talc, and the story of the men and women who built this fabulous industrial epic in the Ariège! Then visit the Trimouns talc quarry: the largest open-air talc quarry in the world! The softest rock on the planet.

A 45-minute drive above Luzenac, you can take part in an exceptional visit to a working quarry. A guide will explain first-hand how talc is extracted from the quarry, with a breathtaking view of the vein, the quarrymen at work and the impressive size of the machines they use. As close as you can get to talc, you’ll be able to touch it, understand why it’s found in Trimouns, and why talc is a material with exceptional properties used all around us.

The visit will be followed by a workshop on rocks and the environment around the quarry: this one-hour workshop will enable participants to deepen their knowledge of geology and mountain flora and fauna.
Closely linked to the visit to the quarry, this activity is structured in three parts:
– Recognizing the rocks around the quarry and the rocks of the Pyrenees: through sensory observation of the rocks and experimentation, participants will be able to differentiate and identify the rocks present around the quarry and in the Pyrenees.
– Landscape reading: the shapes and colors of the mountains tell a geological and human story. Our guides will give you the keys to deciphering it.
– Learning about the mountain environment: the quarry is located right next to the Saint Barthélémy Regional Nature Reserve. A collaboration has been set up between the two in terms of environmental compensation. This section will focus on the mountain biodiversity found around the quarry and protected by the nature reserve.

Picnic lunch (not provided).

Day 2: Caving in the Ermite cave at Ussat-les-Bains.

The Ariège, a land of caves, is an ideal place for caving. The underground environment is totally different from the outside world, where you have to relearn how to move and walk. It’s a discovery of the dark, of crawling, of voids and volumes, of underground life, of stalagmites and stalactites. Very playful and dry, this cave is suitable for children. Four-legged passages, a small labyrinth and beautiful concretion rooms follow one another. The visit lasts around 3 hours. There are plenty of games to play inside the cave.

Climbing on the Auzat rock school: climbing is a symbiosis between man and rock. For climbers of all ages and abilities, bouldering and cliff-climbing offer a wide range of pleasures: mastering your body in harmony, learning to overcome self-doubt, striving to surpass yourself… or sharing a moment of friendship.
In case of bad weather, the climbing activity will take place in the climbing gym in Auzat.

Day 3: Guided tour of the Lombrives cave
After taking the little train to the entrance of the cave, the children will discover a gigantic underground world and marvel at what water can create.
During this immersion tour, pupils discover the karstic network and its astonishing concretions with evocative names: the mammoth, the witch, the octopus… This underground walk is also an opportunity to learn about events that have marked our history: The Bronze Age and Catharism; and to let yourself be carried away by tales and legends: the love story between Hercules and Princess Pyrene (Lombrives is said to house Pyrene’s tomb), the legend of the Lombrives brigands and the story of the giants who populated this cave.
In collaboration with the teacher, we offer tailor-made tours that are fun, educational and adapted to the pupils’ needs.
Please note: the cave is a natural environment, and its route is sometimes uneven. The tour route is relatively simple and accessible, although it does include a narrow, low passage, a small suspended walkway and a long staircase. We can provide an alternative route without these obstacles if required. Walking shoes and warm clothing are highly recommended.