Valais government orders Rhone Glacier ice cave to close

The Valais government has ordered the closure of the tourist ice cave in the Rhone Glacier, SRF reported. The cave attracts about 100,000 visitors a year.

The government rejected an appeal by the family that operates the cave. The operators can still challenge the decision at the cantonal court within 30 days.

The cave is cut into the glacier each spring, allowing visitors to see inside it. The tourist attraction has been the focus of environmental groups for several years.

The government said the tunnel and plastic tarpaulins used at the cave required permits. Such permits would not have been granted because the facilities are in a protected floodplain area of national importance.

A landscape conservation foundation called for the glacier to be protected, the visitor-accessible cave to close and paid access to the glacier to end. It collected about 10,000 signatures in support of its petition.

The operators have removed the plastic tarpaulins, but the tunnel still exists. The cave’s future is now uncertain.