uvergne is well-known for its medieval castles, its mineral springs, its mountain range and its trout fishing. But do you know of its volcanoes? Imagine experiencing childhood-like adventures in something out of a Jules Vernes novel while discovering secret birth in nature. It is possible! Just visit Vulcania and take a journey towards the centre of the earth.

An introduction to volcanology and earth sciences

Close to a very small village, Saint-Ours-Les-Roches (Saint Bear In The Rocks!), you can discover an enigmatic universe that usually only specialists and scientists know. Vulcania is the foremost volcano park in Europe. Thanks to accurately studied special effects, it is indeed possible to experience the sensations felt by volcanologists at the time of their descent into the centre of the earth, along the walls of a crater or next to lava flow. The very latest technology makes simulations stunningly realistic. But it's not enough to observe. It's better to understand! From the origins of solar system to most recent geological discoveries, Vulcania takes you on a tour of four billion years of natural history in one day. But you have to walk a bit!

About a 6- or 8-hour walk to see the entire park

What the visitor first discovers is the "Cone" symbolically located in front of the volcano named Puy de Dôme, 92 feet high and covered with volcanic rocks. A tunnel takes you to permanent underground exhibitions. Cross the building, partly excavated in the basaltic rock and you enter the backstage of Creation. As its Austrian architect, Hans Hollein, says, "Vulcania is a carved place, dug in basaltic lava flows. There is no border between building and landscape."

As explorer's apprentice, the visitor descends a slope along a 115 feet sheer cliff of a "crater". This trip into the centre of the earth begins with simulated seism, reddish glows, smoke and gas, and a dull roaring-all impressively realistic. After having crossed a "tunnel of lava" and leaving the crashing eruptions, the visitor can finally relax in a volcanic garden: a park full of exotic plants and other species that thrive on volcanic ground. Step after step in full-sized natural spaces, volcano life and science are explained and amazingly illustrated with 3D documentaries. Neophytes and nature-lovers alike will come out enchanted.

A total respect for both nature and man The concept behind Vulcania is based on a perfect osmosis between ancestral natural sites and the eagerness to discover. Unlike many uninspired parks distorted with impersonal resorts, there is no hotel in the heart of the volcano range. Visitors are accommodated in villages full of character, discretely and harmoniously located. Don't worry, Vulcania and Auvergne have very demanding quality standards for the hostelry all over the region. So, you can experience a little of the French "art de vivre", on top of the volcanic adventure.

Christelle Mosca
© 2002