Location: Belgium Wallonia Dinant
Show cave near Dinant, discovered in 1904 during the construction of a light railway – with calcite cascades and an underground river.
Interesting facts
- The underground river can rise by almost eight metres.
- Around a hundred bats spend the winter in the great hall.
- The tour ends with around 120 steps.
Why visit
- Stalactites and calcite cascades
- A chance discovery during railway construction in 1904
La Merveilleuse Cave lies on the road from Philippeville to Dinant. It was discovered in 1904 when workers building a light railway line broke into a cavity – a cave shaped by an underground river. It was first called “Grotte de Raimpaine” after the local place name Rend-Peine, and later renamed “La Merveilleuse”, the marvellous one, because of its appearance.
Around 850 metres of passages are known, 650 metres of which are open to visitors. The chambers, including the “Glaciers” and the “Grande salle”, contain stalactites, stalagmites and calcite cascades. The level of the underground river sometimes rises by almost eight metres. In winter around a hundred bats live in the great hall.
A visit takes about 50 minutes and ends with some 120 steps back up to daylight.
History
Discovered in 1904 during the construction of a light railway, first called "Grotte de Raimpaine", later renamed "La Merveilleuse".
Special features
Show cave with around 850 metres of known passages (650 metres accessible), stalactites, stalagmites, calcite cascades and an underground river. Entrance at an altitude of 155 metres.
Map
Opens an external route planner. Please check access and opening times before you set off.
Nearby
Former Capuchin Convent, Dinant
Dinant, Wallonia
0.5 km away
Early 17th-century convent on the left bank of the Meuse in Dinant – a plain complex around a cloister, today home to municipal social services.
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Collegiate Church of Our Lady, Dinant
Dinant, Wallonia
0.8 km away
Gothic collegiate church on the Meuse with a distinctive onion-shaped spire against the cliff – Dinant's landmark, with one of the largest church windows in Europe.
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Citadel of Dinant
Dinant, Wallonia
0.9 km away
Fortress on the rock above Dinant and the River Meuse – today a museum, also reached by cable car, with views over the town and the river.
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Church of Saint George, Leffe
Leffe, Wallonia
1.3 km away
13th-century church in the Leffe district of Dinant on the Meuse – with a Romanesque core and historic flood marks on its portal.
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Crèvecœur Castle
Dinant, Wallonia
1.4 km away
Castle ruins on a cliff some 80 metres above the Meuse at Bouvignes – freely accessible and linked to a well-known legend of three ladies.
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Leffe Abbey
Leffe, Wallonia
1.5 km away
Premonstratensian abbey on the Meuse in Dinant-Leffe, founded in 1152 – the namesake of the well-known abbey beer and still home to a community of canons.
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Sources
Image: EmDee · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
