We explore this cave system only with the light on our camera. Nine caves make up the "Baume Obscure" grotto. Three of them are called the Cypress Cave, the Lobes Cave and the Service Cave. They form an underground network with a total length of 1,200 meters and a maximum depth of 80 meters. A part of about 700 meters is accessible by stairs and walkways and offers a breathtaking view of the most interesting galleries and underground rooms.
Baume Obscure is an incomparable place where you can discover the many facets of the Mediterranean karst (southern karst of the Grasse Prealps) above and below ground: its particular geology, mineralogy and hydrology, its fauna and flora, its cultural and historical heritage.
On the surface: at an average altitude of between 600 m and 700 m, holm oaks and downy oaks, together with a few Aleppo pines or Scots pines, cover the valleys, plateaus and limestone slopes of the vast area around the Obscure area of Baume. In addition, there are the bogs with ash broom and boxwood, lavender and thyme, and rosemary lawns nestled in the crevices of the Lapiaz, the Mediterranean scrublands sometimes difficult to access, especially near the gorges of the Haute Siagne region.
The remains of the past are also very present in the surrounding area: old walls and terraces, shepherds' huts (bories), trout ponds, dolmens and tombs, chapels, old bridges and old mills.
Underground: the cave offers a complete overview of the hydrological phenomena and minerals hidden under the limestone plateau of Saint-Vallier de Thiey.
