Villars cave

To the north of Périgueux in the Périgord Vert region, the Grotte de Villars is one of the largest underground networks in the Dordogne (over 13 km explored to date). The Salle des Bénitiers, Salle des Cierges, Grand Balcony, etc. have all been flooded to create a remarkable setting: the vaults, walls and floors are bristling with calcite, fine stalactites and countless stalagmites, marvellous draperies and eccentric flows.
The Grotte de Villars is home to another treasure trove: prehistoric paintings created 17,000 years ago using manganese and ochre, applied with the finger, a brush or blown into powder. Some, like the horse rotunda, are covered in a thin film of calcite that gives them a distinctive blue colour. The scene of the bison and the sorcerer is a rare human representation in prehistoric art.