What is an ice cave? Caves are entirely underground, creating “exhibition galleries”. Exhibitions consist of a series of sculptures, made of snow or ice.
You will be surprised by the softness of the snow and the warmth of the ice, and by your imagination. Come and explore the secrets of the glaciers.
La Grave Ice Cave
Buried deep within the Girose glacier since 1995……
This was the first cave dug in Oisans in 1995. A fantastic world, over 30 m underground, is waiting for you. You’ll be amazed by the softness of the ice.
It has been a huge task to open the cave this summer as it is sinking 24 m a year!
Galleries close in, sculptures are distorted and the cave has a tendency to shift… Working with nature requires adjustments! Take advantage of this display while there is still time.
Open only in the summer (in winter the cave is under metres of snow!)
Les 2 Alpes ice cave
At an altitude of 3200m in the Roche-Mantel glacier since 1996…
Re-discover the ice age – the 200m long gallery has been dug 30m under the surface of the glacier! This is the paleolithic universe immortalised in ice.
You’ll be amazed by the impressive dinosaurs. The star of the show is the 6m long and 10m wide Manny mammoth which weighs over 6 tons! Open winter and summer.
Since 1996:
The dinosaurs died. Not the prehistoric ones, we’ve known that for ages. No, these are the ice dinosaurs carved in the ice cave at the top of the 2 Alpes resort. After fourteen years, they have melted and disappeared, victims of global warming.
So the managers of the La Meije Ice Cave Company, Bernard Lambolez and Bruno Gardent, decided to recreate the dinosaurs. Manny the mammoth from the “Ice Age” movie and prehistoric characters … the theme of the new cave has turned out to be a continuation of the previous theme.
Alpe d’Huez ice cave
120 m of amazing galleries at an altitude of 2700 m…
In the winter of 2017, you had an opportunity to dive into the “Caribbean Sea”. A unique and memorable experience!
This ice cave, which has been completely redesigned each year since 1997, only opens in winter.
Past themes in the Alpe d’Huez ice Cave include Ancient Greece, the War of Fire, the Sea (of ice?) and the Fables of La Fontaine.
The Incas, the Circus, Egypt, Music and China.
The Enchanted World, American Indians, the Inuit and Abstract art.
What on earth could the next theme be?
Opening hours
The caves have the same opening hours and periods as the chair lifts.
Accessibility
There are anti-slip mats on the ground to ensure stability for visitors. The caves are always near the chair lifts so that pedestrians and skiers can easily access them.