Top 20 most beautiful caves in Romania and their stories

Romania has more than 12,000 known caves, but only a few dozen are set up for visitors. We picked 20 of the most beautiful and most interesting: show caves you enter with a ticket, adventure caves you visit with a guide, and a few unique places you can only admire from outside. For each one you will find the approximate driving distance from Dracula Land, in Gherghita, Prahova County.

Caves stay cool all year, usually between 0 and 12 degrees, so bring a jacket and shoes with non-slip soles. Opening hours and access rules change often, and some caves close in winter to protect the bats, so check with the managing authority before you go.

In short: the 20 caves

1. Scarisoara Ice Cave, Alba: about 500 km
2. Bears' Cave, Chiscau, Bihor: about 550 km
3. Women's Cave, Baia de Fier, Gorj: about 300 km
4. Polovragi Cave, Gorj: about 295 km
5. Ialomita Cave, Bucegi: about 127 km
6. Meziad Cave, Bihor: about 550 km
7. Cetatile Ponorului, Padis, Bihor: about 565 km
8. Wind Cave, Suncuius, Bihor: about 510 km
9. Unguru Mare Cave, Suncuius, Bihor: about 510 km
10. Valea Cetatii Cave, Rasnov, Brasov: about 136 km
11. Comarnic Cave, Caras-Severin: about 545 km
12. Bolii Cave, near Petrosani, Hunedoara: about 380 km
13. Dambovicioara Cave, Arges: about 170 km
14. Bats' Cave, Bistrita Monastery, Valcea: about 276 km
15. St Andrew's Cave, Constanta: about 250 km
16. Izvorul Tausoarelor Cave, Bistrita-Nasaud: about 440 km
17. Topolnita Cave, Mehedinti: about 390 km
18. Cave with Bones, Caras-Severin: about 520 km
19. Movile Cave, Mangalia, Constanta: about 295 km
20. Limanu Cave, Constanta: about 300 km

1. Scarisoara Ice Cave, Apuseni Mountains

Scarisoara Cave holds one of the largest underground glaciers in the world, a block of ice of more than 100,000 cubic metres. Its oldest layers are several thousand years old, and scientists study them as an archive of past climate. You go down metal stairs into a huge hall where the ice stays frozen even in midsummer.

The cave is near the village of Garda de Sus, about half an hour's walk from the road.

Distance from Gherghita: about 500 km, roughly nine and a half hours. It is worth it as part of a tour of the Apuseni Mountains over several days.

2. Bears' Cave, Chiscau

It was discovered in 1975, when a blast in a marble quarry opened its entrance. More than 140 skeletons of cave bears, a species extinct for thousands of years, were found inside, which gave the cave its name. The tourist route passes through galleries with stalactites, stalagmites and formations with names such as the Candle Hall or the Spaghetti Hall.

The cave is closed on Mondays and very busy in summer, so arrive early.

Distance from Gherghita: about 550 km, roughly nine and a half hours.

3. Women's Cave, Baia de Fier

It was the first cave in Romania to get electric lighting, in the 1960s. Its name comes from a legend that, in times of war, the village's women and children hid here. Traces of prehistoric people and cave bear bones were found inside. The lower levels are a reserve, and visitors walk the tourist section with a guide in about half an hour.

Distance from Gherghita: about 300 km, roughly five hours.

4. Polovragi Cave, Gorj

The cave opens into the Oltet Gorge and has about 10 km of known galleries, of which around 800 metres can be visited. Legend says that Zalmoxis, the god of the Dacians, lived here. The lighting was recently modernised with cool LED light, and the nearby Polovragi Monastery is worth a stop too. Combine the visit with the Women's Cave, a few kilometres away.

Distance from Gherghita: about 295 km, roughly five hours.

5. Ialomita Cave, Bucegi

The show cave closest to Gherghita. The Ialomita Cave, or Ialomicioara, has a hermitage several centuries old at its entrance, and legend says that Zalmoxis withdrew here and that princes' treasures were hidden inside. Remains of the cave bear were found in it. In late autumn the road along the Ialomita Valley may already have snow.

Distance from Gherghita: about 127 km, roughly two and a half hours. Details in our Ialomita Cave guide.

6. Meziad Cave, Bihor

One of the first caves in Romania set up for tourists, as early as the start of the 20th century, and reopened in 1972. It has a monumental entrance and galleries on several levels, almost 5 km long in total. The cave is a protected natural area.

Distance from Gherghita: about 550 km, roughly ten hours.

7. Cetatile Ponorului, Padis

One of the most spectacular places in the Apuseni Mountains: a cave system with a portal more than 70 metres high, at the bottom of deep rock amphitheatres. You reach it on marked mountain trails from the Padis area, and the inside of the cave is only for people with equipment and experience. The access road to Padis is being modernised, so check beforehand whether it is open to traffic.

Distance from Gherghita: about 565 km, roughly ten and a half hours.

8. Wind Cave, Suncuius

This is the longest cave in Romania, with about 50 km of mapped galleries on several levels. Its name comes from the strong air currents at the entrance. It is not an ordinary show cave: it can only be visited with a specialised guide, along a section a few hundred metres long.

Distance from Gherghita: about 510 km, roughly nine hours.

9. Unguru Mare Cave, Suncuius

On the bank of the Crisul Repede river near Suncuius, Unguru Mare Cave has a portal 32 metres high and is reached by a suspension footbridge over the river. About 400 metres can be visited. Traces of settlement from the Bronze Age and the Dacian period were found inside. It combines easily with the nearby Wind Cave.

Distance from Gherghita: about 510 km, roughly nine hours.

10. Valea Cetatii Cave, Rasnov

Close to Brasov, below Rasnov Fortress, Valea Cetatii Cave has acoustics so good that classical concerts are held inside. The tourist route is around 330 metres long and ends in a large hall with stalagmites. It is one of the easiest caves to visit with children.

Distance from Gherghita: about 136 km, roughly two and a half hours; combine it with Rasnov Fortress and Bran Castle.

11. Comarnic Cave, Caras-Severin

Considered the most beautiful cave in Banat, it lies in the Semenic – Cheile Carasului National Park. The visitable route is about 1.7 km long and takes around two hours, through halls such as the Great Hall with Blocks, the Great Organ and the Treasury. It can only be visited with the park rangers, usually from spring to autumn.

Distance from Gherghita: about 545 km, roughly nine hours.

12. Bolii Cave, near Petrosani

A cave crossed by a stream, which you can walk along its entire length of almost 500 metres. It has bridges and electric lighting, and concerts have been held inside since 2007. It is one of the easiest caves in the country for a short visit.

Distance from Gherghita: about 380 km, roughly six and a half hours.

13. Dambovicioara Cave, Arges

A small cave, about 555 metres long, in the Rucar – Bran area; its first 250 metres have a walkway and lighting. Local legends say outlaws once hid here. The nearby Dambovicioara Gorge is as beautiful as the cave itself.

Distance from Gherghita: about 170 km, roughly three and a half hours.

14. Bats' Cave, Bistrita Monastery, Valcea

Next to Bistrita Monastery, in the Bistrita Gorge, the Bats' Cave, also called the Cave of St Gregory the Decapolite, shelters two small churches from the 15th–17th centuries, partly carved into the rock, more than 30 metres above the water. In hard times the monks hid the saint's relics and the monastery's treasure here. Access is only with the monastery's permission, in small groups, and the galleries with bats are protected.

Distance from Gherghita: about 276 km, roughly four and a half hours.

15. St Andrew's Cave, Constanta

Near the village of Ion Corvin, in Dobruja, lies the cave where, according to tradition, the Apostle Andrew lived and preached. A monastery has been built around it, and it is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Romania, especially on St Andrew's Day, 30 November. The cave is small, but the place has a special atmosphere.

Distance from Gherghita: about 250 km, roughly four hours.

16. Izvorul Tausoarelor Cave, Rodna Mountains

It is the deepest cave in Romania, more than 450 metres deep, and one of the longest, with about 17–20 km of galleries. It is not open to mass tourism: only small groups with a guide and equipment can explore it, because it is a scientific reserve.

Distance from Gherghita: about 440 km, roughly nine and a half hours.

17. Topolnita Cave, Mehedinti

On the Mehedinti Plateau, near the village of Ciresu, Topolnita Cave has more than 20 km of galleries on several levels and is considered one of the most beautiful caves in Europe. It is a natural monument managed by the Romanian Academy and cannot be visited freely: access is controlled and very rare, and the portal can be admired from outside.

Distance from Gherghita: about 390 km, roughly six hours.

18. Cave with Bones, Caras-Severin

A small cave near Anina that became famous worldwide: some of the oldest remains of modern humans in Europe, about 40,000 years old, were found here, and the man whose jawbone was discovered was nicknamed "Ion of Anina". The cave is a scientific reserve and cannot be visited.

Distance from Gherghita: about 520 km, roughly eight and a half hours.

19. Movile Cave, Mangalia

One of the most unusual caves on the planet: cut off from the outside world for millions of years, with an ecosystem that lives without light, based on chemosynthesis. Dozens of invertebrate species that exist nowhere else live here. Only researchers are allowed in, but its story is worth knowing when you are near Mangalia.

Distance from Gherghita: about 295 km, roughly four hours.

20. Limanu Cave, Constanta

Near Mangalia, under the plateau of Limanu village, stretches a labyrinth of more than 3 km of galleries, branching like the streets of an old town. It has been a speleological reserve since 1959, and many legends surround it, from ancient hiding places to tunnels leading to Bulgaria, which researchers have never confirmed. It has no tourist route.

Distance from Gherghita: about 300 km, roughly four hours.

Routes from Gherghita

• A day in the mountains: the Ialomita Cave in the Ialomita Valley, or Valea Cetatii Cave together with Rasnov and Bran.
• A weekend in Oltenia: Polovragi Cave, the Women's Cave and Bistrita Monastery with the Bats' Cave, a few dozen kilometres from each other.
• The seaside, differently: St Andrew's Cave, then Mangalia, with the stories of the Movile and Limanu caves.
• The Apuseni Mountains over several days: Scarisoara Ice Cave, the Bears' Cave, Meziad, the Wind Cave and Unguru Mare.

Practical tips

• Dress in layers. It may be warm outside, but caves are between 0 and 12 degrees and very humid.
• Closed shoes with good grip. Walkways and stairs are often wet.
• Don't touch the formations. A stalactite grows a few centimetres in hundreds of years, and the grease from your hands stops it growing.
• No flash where there are bats. Respect closed areas and the guide's instructions.
• Check the opening hours. Many caves are closed on Mondays or in winter; for adventure caves you need a licensed guide.

Where to stay

For the caves in the Bucegi Mountains, the Prahova Valley and the Brasov area, Gherghita is a convenient base, next to the A3 motorway and 40 minutes from Bucharest. Choose accommodation near Dracula Land and plan your trips the day before. If you like places with a story, see also the top 20 most beautiful castles in Romania.