The fountain of Fontestorbes

Just South of the pretty Pyrenean village of Belesta below a white limestone cliff is this natural wonder. Spilling out from a cave on the cliff face flows this incredible waterfall.

What makes this spring so special is the way that it changes in less than an hourly cycle from a gushing torrent to barely a trickle during the dry summer months. There are only a few examples worldwide of this natural phenomenon and here the change is spectacular going from around 50 litres per second to 1,800 litres per second and back within an hour.

Not surprisingly this mysterious waterfall has baffled scientists for years and was first recorded in Roman times. Legends also abound with mythical tales of magical fairies explaining the fountains powers.

The most feasible explanation for this strange behaviour is that of a natural siphon where dependent on changing levels of air and water in a series of passages and an underground chamber the water either flows or is blocked by a passage of air.

The cave is large enough to walk into and explore, advisable when the spring is dry!

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Address :	09300 Belesta
Telephone :	+33 (0)561 012220