From a secure viewpoint, you can discover the Igue de la Ramade, the largest of this series of three chasms in Aujols.
Documentation
Village of Aujols, accessible from Arcambal heading towards Concots (D911 road): 44° 26’ 37” N 1° 31’ 35” E.
Free access to the public; period of sensitivity: mid-February to late May (see recommendations below).
Igue is a local term used to designate a chasm. The Igues d’Aujols are sinkholes, a form typical of karst areas which is commonly found in the Causses du Quercy.
Karst phenomena
The Causses are a “karst” area, meaning where the limestone basement undergoes a very particular type of erosion associated with the gradual dissolution of limestone by water. The present-day underground drains caused the countless chasms in the Causses. They are also the source of very particular and often spectacular karst forms at the surface: sinkholes.
The three Igues d’Aujols are especially spectacular examples of Quercy’s karst sinkholes.
Groundwater
The underground network winding under the main chasm conceals a hard-to-access body of water at the same altitude as the Fontaine des Chartreux in Cahors. Both bodies of water belong to the same hydrogeological system: at their medium and high water levels, they faithfully fluctuate in tandem, despite the 8 kilometres separating them. Colouring carried out in 1974 confirmed this relationship.
Recommendations: remarkable biodiversity
The Igues d’Aujols are protected and developed under the Lot Department’s Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) policy. In fact, the steep walls of the chasms provide a very interesting natural habitat for many remarkable, protected species of birds.
The site should not be visited during the period of nesting and rearing of their young, between mid-February and late May, and in all instances, visitors should respect the peace of the site, especially around the belvedere.
