Explore the Carpathian Garden

The Cave from Rea Valley

February 8th, 2011

The Cave from Rea Valley (Bad Valley) is one of the biggest, toughest and most beautiful cave in Romania. The cave is located in the Rea Valley – Cornu Muntilor, Bihor county, at 1350 meters altitude near the alpine goal, in the north-west of the karst plateau Padis.

In 1986 a team formed by Adrian Vălenaş and Liviu Vălenaş from Oradea Z, discovers the mouth of a pit, located at 1350 meters altitude near the alpine goal. The pothole is explored only in 1987 until a strait situated at -29meters. The obstacle is unrocked and it uncovers a series of straits that lead on the lip of a shaft, from which it penetrates the noise produced by a stream. In 1996 the siphon from -264meters is exceeds and is reached a new one at -320 meters. The current development of the cave from Rea Valley is 21 km.

The Cave from Rea Valley is one of the most difficult in Romania. A complex system of horizontal galleries, vertical shafts and chimneys, huge rooms, a underground stream that crosses the canyon, “gururi”, vortical boiling pans lined with spoons. Here is the highest waterfall in Romania, Fan Waterfall (Ventilatorului Waterfall) of 82 meters in one piece. Deposit and trickling formations, very numerous and very beautiful are far outweighed by crystallized ones. A true museum of mineralogy is strung along the galleries: only rare and unusual pieces. The geologists have identified 37 minerals, of which 6 are unknown until then and 23 in the composition of the cave’s concretion: Aragonite, gypsum, quartz, Celeste, malachite, rodocrozit, metatyuyamunit, Crystals of gypsum, calcite, aragonite formations, stalactites, stalagmites, crystals on tens of thousands of square meters in all sizes and colors available. The cave provides the highest richness and variety of the existing crystallization of gypsum in our country.

The cave is a scientific reserve, the access being strictly prohibited for tourism.

Dâlbina Cave

February 8th, 2011

Dâlbina Cave is a cave of small dimension in Vânătare Polje, Ponor village, Alba county. The cave is located Trascau Mountains, near Valea Poienii hamlet. You can get there from Aiud, on the road that leads to Ponor.

The cave has been inhabited since the prehistoric times. There were culture traces of the late Bronze Age. It was explored and mapped by Viorel Roru Ludusan in 1982 after the information taken from the locals.

It is a fossil cave that does not have an organized body of water, with a heart-shaped entrance of 6 meters wide. The entry breaks Vânătării wall, at 2meters high besides the stream’s bed. Once climbed the input waterfall, you enter a round room of 30 meters diameter of 10-15 meters high. The almost horizontal floor is covered with boulders and mud resulting from the accidental floods occurring in Vânătările Ponorului Polje in which is back is found. All the water that disappears here, it appears after 18 meters in the final part of the cave’s Huda lui Papara. At powerful rains, all the water that is collected in the Polje must be drained in Ponorul Vânătare. Incidentally, it may clog with other materials, branches or haystacks. Then it is formed a temporary lake that may rise to a few tens of meters high, flooding also Dâlbina cave. When the water’s pressure exceeds the strength of the stopper, it is dissipated and the water rushes with great flow on the active gallery of Huda lui Papara Cave. Hence was born the legend of Soloman (from Huda lui Papara Cave. The phenomenon is very irregular, perhaps once a decade.

In the only room of Dalbina Cave you can see a few “speleoteme” (concretions of caves, formed by physico-chemical precipitation), some parietal leakage and some stalactites.

The cave can be visited without any problems. Only at the entry there is threshold of 2 meters that must be climbed and might give you some headaches; you will possibly need a flashlight to see in the darker corners, otherwise the light that gets through the entrance of the cave is not strong enough to visit the cave. At a few tens of meters is Dâlbina Waterfall and the Little Cave from Vânătare.

The Cave from Horn Hill

February 8th, 2011

The Cave from Horn Hill (Cornului Hill) is a small cave, but very rich in archaeological traces. The cave is located Trascau Mountains near the hamlet Valea Poienii, Ponor village, Alba county. The place is forested and hides very well the entrance to the cave that is 20 meters below the top of the hill.

The cave has been inhabited since prehistoric times. There were found traces culture from the Bronze Age and Iron Age. It was explored and mapped by Viorel Roru Ludusan in 1982 after information taken from the locals.

It is a fossil cave with an arch-shaped entrance with the base of 5 meters and height of 2 meters. It enters directly into a room of 8/8meters, with horizontal floor, a suitable housing for the primitive man. Since those times it appeared parietal leakage and some crippled stalactite. The hall continues with a relatively large gallery of 2-3 meters, on the general direction north-south. It also appears monthmilk and draper formations. The gallery is expanding in a room with a slightly tilted floor but broken by several archaeological excavations. Further, the gallery is narrowing, becoming after a few meters impenetrable. On the opposite part of the hill, at its foot, lies “Vânătările Ponorului“.

The cave is difficult to find. There is no path nearby. It can be found easier when the forest is leafless and can be spotted a rock with grass on it, at 20 meters below the top of the hill. Light sources are needed.

Bolii Cave

February 8th, 2011

Photo by gheediana

Bolii Cave (Disease cave) is a natural breakdown, accessible along its entire length, one of the few caves of its kind in the country. (like Rădeasa Citadel Cave). The cave is situated in the northern of Petrosani city, Hunedoara county, at 6km from it, on the road linking the Jiu Valley with Haţegului Country, in the place where the Retezatului Mountains meet with those of Sebes.

The name probably comes from the Bolia family who had even from the 15th century land properties and forests in the area.

The cave begins where Jupaneasa Creek is lost in the Jurassic limestone package through a spectacular portal of 20 meters at the base and 10 meters high. The main gallery of the cave is generally of large dimensions, sometimes expanding into real spacious rooms. Some drain formations appear in the high places and on the ceiling of the gallery. On a length of 466 meters the gallery descends only 3 meters. At the exit of the cave the creek it’s named Galbina. In the ’60s the cave was decorated with crossing bridges over the creek but they were destroyed over time. The cave was abandoned until recently when the local cavers from PETRO-AQUA Association, went to redevelopment. There were installed culverts to facilitate the safe crossing of the underground hole.

Since the interwar period, in the largest hall of the cave there were organized musical concerts. The hall was named the concert and dance hall as a result of the outstanding acoustics that has demonstrated. In 2007, on May 1, in the tradition spirit, there were performed artistic events both within and outside the cave.

The Water Cave from Firei Valley

February 8th, 2011

The Water Cave from Firei Valley is the second longest cave in the country and certainly, very soon will it will the first one, displacing the Wind Cave. It consists of two units, The Grand Cave from Firei Valley and the Pothole from the Meadow (Avenul din Poienita) known as Humpleu System . The cave is located in the upper basin of the Somesul Cald River, between Firei Valley and Ponor Valley, in Cluj county.

In September 1984, Angelo Bulboacă from Cluj was led by the ranger Avram Cus at a small opening in a debris cone, located in the right side of the Firei Valley (Humpleu Hill). Together with I. Pop and M. Almasan, two months later, he entered The Grand Cave from Firei Valley discovering the Entry Hall, the Collapsed Dome Hall, False Lakes Gallery and Rol Gallery. From the competition of two teams it resulted a exceptional discovery: 40 km from the cave in 10 years, compared to the Wind Cave where the cavers explored 40 km in 40 years.

The Grand Cave from Firei Valley is a cave complex that includes almost all the karst elements. The cavity is arranged on two levels: the upper level, fossil, consisting of a succession of large rooms rich in concretions and an inferior level, active, located 30-50meters below the fossil, broad and rich in concretions with an average flow underground river. The fossil comprises: Entrance Hall, respectively Ondine Hall, which has a length of 365 meters, width between 25-30 meters and heights of 10-15 meters. The fossil continues with The Dance Hall (304/77/55 meters), Pocket Hall (55/78/10 meters), Suspended Hall (108/42/12 meters), Club Room (100/54/22 meters), Dan Coman Room (242/73/23 meters), Wonders Hall (230 / 40 / 30 meters), Gabor Halasi Room (490/103/35 meters), Charonte Rooms, Grenoble Rooms, “A” Rooms, Bivuacului Hall, the High Room (80/75/80 meters), Giants Hall (750 / 111 / 35 meters), Pagodas Room (50/40/20 meters), Hall “89″(110/30/22 meters), Helictitelor Room (75/50/22 meters), the Hall with Windows (40/30/18 meters), the Final Hall, Amphitheatre Hall and Bingo Hall. These rooms are separated by sectors of galleries full of calcite leaks or collapses.

The cave is closed and can be accessed only with the approval ISERE Cluj Napoca in well-trained teams.

Corobana lui Gartau Cave

February 4th, 2011

Corobana lui Gartau Cave is located in the commune Garda de Sus, Alba County, in the Bihor Mountains. Corobana lui Gartau Cave is located on right side of Ordancusa Valley, at an altitude of 800 meters in Triassic limestone. You can reach it through the valley of Aries, Garda de Sus village, following the forest road for about 2.5 km that starts from the center of the commune towards the cave Scărişoara.

“Corobana” means in local language hollow, burrow, a natural shelter. That’s what it is, an indentation in the limestone wall of the Ordâncuşei gorges, of impressive size, 38 meters wide and 30 meters deep with a maximum height of 14 meters. In speleology, this type of cave is called “abri”.

The cave is marked by J. Vass since 1857, and in 1921, is visited by P. Chappuis, R. Jeannel and Emil Racovita . It was certainly used as by the primitive man as a dwelling, but the traces were not kept because the floor is subject to frequent floods of Ordancusa stream. The hallows were used in the communist times when the forests were taken from the peasants , depriving them of one of their sources of income. They processed the wood into barrels, beams and planks which they exchanged in the country, for food. Because they would have been caught if the took the wood home, they cut and hid it in hard accessible hallows, where they processed it with primitive tools: hand-saws, axes and big knifes.

The cave looks like a huge oven dug into the limestone wall of Ordancuşei gorges, located between two paths leading to the two neighboring caves which are genetically related to it: Ionele Gate Cave and Ghetarul de sub Zgurăşti. The floor is now directed through development works done by the Town Hall of Garda de Sus, and the ceiling shows some signs of parietal leaks.

The Town Hall of Garda de Sus has built and maintained this site as a camping area for tourists. The floor was directed and were installed benches and tables of stone and timber. Besides tourism, here are held very scenic folklore events.

Hodobana Cave

February 4th, 2011

Hodobana Cave is a active cave of large size in the Bihor Mountains, in Apuseni Carpathians. The cave is located in the village Hodobana, Arieşeni, Alba County.

After the description made by Paul Damm and Calin Pop, the entering of the cave was discovered by F. Păroiu (ALive Fire Bucharest) and N. Sasu in April of 1979, exploring then only 25 meters from the entrance gallery. In August of that year, the two cavers with Eva Gyorfi, go through several hundred meters of galleries, reaching by the Hope Shaft a draintrap located at 119 meters, namely a severe distress in the Coralitelor gallery at +54meters.

Hodobana Cave’s mapping was done mostly during 1980, in September reaching a development of 15,752 meters. In 1981 however, despite their efforts, it offered only minor findings, which however climbed the network’s lenght to 18 326 meters. The last great discovery was to be conducted on December 30, 1981 by L. Vălenaş and Mircea Tent, by entering into a multi-leveled network related to the second tributary of the Grand River. The mapping action, at which was also attended G. Popescu, Ildikó Bogdan, Calin Brad and N. Stoica-Negulescu, would lead to achieving a length of 20,542 meters.

In the cave weren’t made any systematic excavations, but the place can offer many surprises.

Rădeasa Citadel Cave

February 4th, 2011

Rădeasa Citadel Cave is a accessible hydrological breakthrough, with a length of 260 meters. The cave is located in the northern part of the karst plateau Padis, Bihor county, Pietroasa commune.

The easiest way to reach it is from the Padis chalet, on the route marked with red tape, through the Varaşoia meadow. Crossing the cities can not be done during the summer heavy rains when make the stream’s flow makes almost impossible the passing through the narrow areas.

The entering the cave is on the left bank. It has a monumental gateway of 15 meters high, after what we get in the Great Hall lit by four chimneys. The entire string floor is covered with large blocks of rock, through the waters creep with a roaring sound, forming forming rapids and waterfalls that must be passed. It follow a narrow area and deprived of light, until we reach the area below the Window I, another venture that pierces the limestone floor. Next is a narrow canyon, with no light, with swirling grooves, typical of erosion, after what we get on the exit from Radesei meadow. The route crossed in the underground has a length of 260 meters and a bump of 36 meters. It has no spectacular karst formations, but the cave has a significant tourism potential.

In the cave were made systematic excavations, but the place can not offer surprises.

The cave has a medium degree of difficulty and is not recommended in rainy weather.It requires light sources.

Gemenele Pothole (Twins)

February 4th, 2011

Gemenele Pothole (Twins Pothole), is located on the eastern slope of the Dambau Peak and is considered the most beautiful cave in the area, with a great wealth of speleoteme. The pothole is located in the town of Zlatna, Alba County, in the south-west of Trascău Mountains. It was discovered, explored and mapped by Viorel Ludusan ( Polaris Blaj ).

Gemenele Pothole it’s named so, after the two access verticals: one of 17 meters and another of 20 meters. For descending you may choose any version, the vertical of 20 meters is equipped with a python (you can also use natural Mooring – trees) as the same for vertical 17 meters.

Both the verticals descend in the same room, the second one as development. From here you climb up on a cone of debris at the base of the 17meters vertical. It continues to go up until a horizontal gallery. You pass through a corridor rich in remains of animals that have fallen into a pit and you reach a modest-sized room, from which are detached about 3 galleries, all descendant. In the middle one, you get in a room higher than the previous one, beautifully decorated. Continuing in the same direction, after we climb a small threshold we reach a area rich in stalagmites, stalactites, columns, parietal flows, clusters.

The pothole can be visited by trained teams and properly equipment. There are needed strings, locking parts, descenders, carabiners, illuminating sources.

The Pothole from the Plains

February 4th, 2011

The Pothole from the Plains, also called “The Cave May 1″ from day when it started the first exploration, in 1950. It is part of a complex karst system which also includes Scarisoara Glacier, Pjarul Politei, Izbucul Politei. The entry of the pothole is at 500 meters from the entry of Scărişoara cave, in one of the dolines with which the Depression from the Ocoale ends at south. Since the place is hard to find, it is recommended to consult the local people or locating the coordinates 46 ° 29’38 “N 22 ° 48’35 “E.

The Pothole from the Plains is a complex underground network carved in limestone, which consists of 3865 meters length of galleries and wells, resulting a level difference of 219 meters.

The pit’s mouth, situated at 1166 meters altitude, has an oval shape of 6/3 meters. Even from the mouth it starts the succession of wells, the descent rope being linked to the nearest tree. The first jumping of 10meters is partially clogged with tree trunks that complicates the descending but helps at the climbing. At the first pit’s base is sloped room. The rope must be linked to a log wedged between the walls. The vertical has a small terrace at 3 meters and then it falls another 8 meters into a room filled with boulders, called Doru Hall.

From Doru Room, the rope is caught by a python planted in rock and descends 10 meters into the next room. It already appears a trickle of water that wets the speleologist during the cave descending. After the last waterfall, it follows the Mouse Hole 1 at the rate of 70 meters from the pit mouth. This is a gallery of less than 1 meter in diameter,in which the water crawling is blocked by, ironically, a metal gate, Egoistilor Gate (The selfish gate) installed by the cavers from Sfinx, of Garda de Sus.

There following many galleries and rooms like The Red Gallery, The Gallery with floors, The Rain Gallery, The Big Hall, Confluences Hall, The Gallery with sediments, The Winding Gallery and others.

The Pothole from the Plains is one of the most interesting caves in the Apuseni Mountains, by the variation of the aspects that it presents and its genesis. It has all types of galleries (pressure, diaclaze with levels and terraces, with mirrors of friction), and the bumps bring out clearly the stages of training.

The Cave from Rea Valley

Dâlbina Cave

The Cave from Horn Hill

Bolii Cave

The Water Cave from Firei Valley

Corobana lui Gartau Cave

Hodobana Cave

Rădeasa Citadel Cave

Gemenele Pothole (Twins)

The Pothole from the Plains

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