Cristian Lascu

GGhhiidduull PPee¿¿tteerriilloorrddiinn RRoommâânniiaaROMANIAN CAVES GUIDE

Ghid realizat cu sprijinul Federa¡ei Române de Speologie

This touristic guide has been edited with the assistance of the Romanian

Spelaeologic Federation

Traducere

în limba englezå: Pia-Maria Luttman

Redactor carte: Mådålin Foc¿a

Corector: Daniel Voicea

Art director: Daniela Nae

Tehnoredactor: Bogdan Coscaru

Credit foto: Cristian Lascu

Foto coperta I – Pe¿tera Polovragi

Front cover photo – Polovragi Cave

Editurå specializatå în ghiduri tematice ¿i autoeducative,

într-o ¡inutå graficå deosebitå.Toate titlurile beneficiazå

de consiliere de specialitate.

Colec¡ii reprezentative: Ghidul României, Familia,

Gastronomica, Starea de bine, Casa ¿i grådina, Interven¡ii.

© 2008 House of Guides

Tel: (0040)21-317 91 31, Fax: 224 31 86

E-mail: office@houseofguides.ro

www.houseofguides.ro

© Toate drepturile apar¡in în exclusivitate Editurii House of Guides.

Este interziså reproducerea integralå sau par¡ialå a lucrårii sub orice formå,

fårå permisiunea scriså a Editurii House of Guides.

© All rights reserved. Copyright by House of Guides. This book may not be

reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of House of Guides.

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Na¡ionale a României

LASCU, CRISTIAN

Ghidul pe¿terilor din România

Bucure¿ti: House of Guides, 2008

Edi¡ia a II-a

ISBN 978-606-513-048-7

3

Modul de folosire a ghidului/How to use the guide . . . . . . . . . . 5

Introducere/Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Pe¿teri turistice în Mun¡ii Apuseni/

Touristic Caves in Apuseni Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Harta/Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Unitå¡i de cazare/Accomodations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Pe¿teri turistice în Banat ¿i Oltenia/

Touristic Caves in Banat and Oltenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Harta/Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Unitå¡i de cazare/Accomodations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Pe¿teri turistice în Carpa¡ii Orientali ¿i Dobrogea/

Touristic Caves in the Eastern Carpathians and Dobrudja . . . . 79

Harta/Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Unitå¡i de cazare/Accomodations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Rezerva¡ii speologice/Spelaeologic Reservations . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Sfaturi practice pentru vizitatorii pe¿terilor/

Practical Advice for Cave Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Adrese utile/Useful addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Lista pe¿terilor protejate/Protected caves in Romania . . . 128

Cuprins/Summary

4

MODUL DE FOLOSIRE A GHIDULUI

HOW TO USE THE GUIDE

SHORTCUTS

Hotel

Hostel

Villa

Motel

Guest House

Chalet

Bungalow

Restaurant

Summer Restaurant

Pizzeria

Brasserie

Bistro

Pub

Bar

Bar

Night Club

Club

Casino

Cabaret

Disco

Coffee Bar

Sweet-Shop

Wine Cellar

Wellness center

Commune

Town

City

ABREVIERI

Hotel

Hostel

Vilå

Motel

Pensiune

Cabanå

Bungalow

Restaurant

Teraså sezonierå

Pizzerie

Braserie

Bistro

Pub

Bar

Bar de zi

Bar de noapte

Club

Casino

Cabaret

Discotecå

Cafenea

Cofetårie

Cramå

Centru wellness

Comunå

Ora¿

Municipiu

H

Hs

V

M

P

C

Bw

R

T

Pz

Bs

B

Pb

Bar

BZ

BN

CL

Cs

Cb

D

Cf

Co

Cr

SPA

com.

or.

mun.

Abrevieri de unitå¡i în sec¡iunea Hoteluri/Units abbreviations

in Hotels section

Cabanå/Chalet C

Hotel/Hotel H

Motel/Motel M

Pensiune/Board and lodging P

Vilå/Villa V

Hostel/ Hostel Hs

5

Legenda hår¡ilor/Map symbols

1 – Tip unitate / Accomodation type

2 – Nume unitate / Accomodation name

3 – Clådire monument istoric / Historical building

4 – Clasifica¡ie / Classification

5 – Dotåri / Facilities

H – Palace �� **** (+R, T, BZ, BN, D)

Str. Octavian Goga 4; � 0244-31 20 51

www.palacero.com

1 2 3 4 5

România, ¡ara pe¿terilor

¿i a speologiei

Din crestele cele mai înalte ale Fågå-

ra¿ului ¿i pânå la malul Mårii Negre,

pe¿terile stau ascunse, tåcute ¿i mira-

culoase, adåugând peisajului nostru o

componentå verticalå secretå. Cadas-

trul completat anual de Institutul de

Speologie Emil Racovi¡å consemneazå

mii de numere de înregistrare, tot atâ-

tea cavitå¡i mai mari sau mai mici, une-

le abia depå¿ind 5 m lungime, altele, de

zeci de kilometri. Dar aceste cifre, de¿i

impunåtoare, nu spun nimic în compa-

ra¡ie cu ce ne spun pe¿terile însele.

Cåci ele alcåtuiesc o adevåratå geogra-

fie subpåmânteanå complexå ¿i origina-

lå: canioane, såli uria¿e, labirinturi com-

plicate, lacuri ¿i râuri subterane, grådini

de stalagmite ¿i cristale.

Pe¿terile noastre au fost înså ¿i arhi-

ve care au påstrat vestigiile preistoriei

¿i istoriei. Såpând în sedimentul lor,

cercetåtorii pot citi ca într-o carte, filå cu

filå, evolu¡ia climei, a faunei, a civiliza¡i-

ilor care s-au perindat pe la noi.

Romania, the country of

caves and spelaeology

From the highest peaks of the

Fågåra¿ Mountains to the Black Sea

shores, caves lie hidden, silent and fa-

bulous, adding a secret vertical compo-

nent to the Romanian landscape. The

yearly reviewed survey produced by the

Emil Racovi¡å Spelaeology Institute re-

cords several thousand caves and

holes large or small, some of them

hardly longer than 5 m, other ones

dozens of kilometers long. But the fi-

gures, although quite impressing, are

insignificant when compared to the sto-

ries told by the very caves. Because, in

fact, they make up a parallel under-

ground geography, complex and uncom-

mon: canyons, huge rooms, entangled

mazes, underground lakes and rivers,

gradens of stalagmites and crystals.

Our caves also acted as relic preser-

vers, from prehistoric and historic times.

Digging in such sediments, scientists

can read the tale of the climate, of the

evolution of animal life.

6

Introducere

Introduction

Cristale de pe¿terå/Cave crystals

Aparent sterile din pricina beznei ¿i a

frigului, pe¿terile adåpostesc, în reali-

tate, comunitå¡i uneori destul de bogate

de vie¡uitoare. ªi pot fi întâlni¡i nu nu-

mai vampirii cei cumsecade, liliecii, ci

foarte mul¡i dintre reprezentan¡ii zoolo-

giei nevertebratelor. Fiin¡e oarbe, depig-

mentate, tråind ritmuri biologice dictate

de alte legi decât cele de la lumina

soarelui. Primul savant din lume care a

intuit importan¡a studiului acestor ade-

vårate fosile vii a fost Emil Racovi¡å,

care a pus bazele unei noi discipline

¿tiin¡ifice, biospeologia, ¿i a fondat la

Cluj, în 1920, primul institut din lume

dedicat exclusiv cercetårii pe¿terilor.

Urma¿ii lui Racovi¡å au purtat mai de-

parte fåclia cunoa¿terii prin bezna sub-

teranelor. Numårul pe¿terilor a crescut

spectaculos: 980 erau în 1967, 10.000

în 1990, peste 12.500 în prezent.

În ultimii ani, pe¿terile au devenit ¿i

un bun ambasador al României. Faima

unor descoperiri ¿tiin¡ifice, cum ar fi

cele din Pe¿tera Movile, Piatra Altarului,

Pe¿tera cu Oase au fost larg mediati-

zate în presa interna¡ionalå ¿i au

devenit subiectul unor documentare

difuzate pe National Geographic, Disco-

very Channel, ZDF, BBC.

Seemingly barren because of dark-

ness and cold, the caves actually har-

bour sometimes quite big communities

of living creatures. Among them there

are not only the nice vampires – the

bats, but also very many members of the

invertebrate family; blind, discoloured,

they live following biological cycles im-

posed by other laws than those reigning

in the sunlight. Emil Racovi¡å was the

first scientist in the world who was

aware of the importance of investigating

these living relics, and he set the foun-

dation of a new science branch, the

biospeleology; in 1920, in Cluj, he esta-

blished the first world institute dedica-

ted to the investigation of caves.

The disciples of Racovi¡å carried fur-

ther on the flame of knowledge through

the underground darkness. The number

of recorded caves has grown impres-

sively: in 1967 their number had rea-

ched 980, then 10,000 in 1990, and

more than 12,500 nowadays.

In the more recent years, our caves

have become a good ambassador for

Romania. The reputation of certain sci-

entific discoveries, such as the ones

made in Pe¿tera Movile, Piatra Altarului,

or Pe¿tera cu Oase enjoyed extensive

Pe¿tera Limanu/Limanu Cave

Farmecul adâncurilor

Peisajul subpåmântean poate pårea

unora ostil ¿i monoton. Ni¿te stânci

acolo, argilå ro¿ie, frig, umezealå, bez-

nå. Dar privind cu aten¡ie, într-o luminå

potrivitå, peisajul subteran î¿i dezvåluie

atrac¡iile.

Ce putem admira, a¿adar, într-o pe¿-

terå?

Existå în primul rînd o arhitecturå

specificå spa¡iului subteran. Straturile

orizontale sau oblice ¿i fracturile verti-

cale despicå roca dupå direc¡ii precise.

Apele modeleazå apoi golul carstic

urmårind planul trasat de structura geo-

logicå ini¡ialå. Dacå straturile de calcar

sunt orizontale, vom avea bol¡i de tem-

ple egiptene, grinzi masive, tavane pla-

te. Asemenea construc¡ii se pot vedea

la pe¿tera Limanu de lângå Mangalia

sau în pe¿tera Huda lui Paparå de pe

Valea Arie¿ului, în Mun¡ii Apuseni.

Dacå straturile de rocå sunt oblice,

tavanul va avea forma acoperi¿ului

¡uguiat al unei case de mo¡i. Diedrul

bol¡ii preia bine greutatea tonelor de

rocå de deasupra, iar galeria rezistå

sute de mii de ani. Pe¿tera Ialomi¡ei, la

Sala Ur¿ilor, sau marele portal al Cetå-

¡ilor Ponorului sunt exemple elocvente

în acest sens.

Când apa ¿i timpul î¿i unesc for¡ele,

bol¡ile pot evolua spre forma maturå, în

worldwide media coverage and have

made up topics of documentaries

broadcast on TV by channels such as

National Geographic, Discovery Chan-

nel, ZDF or BBC.

The spell of the deep

Some people may fiind the under-

ground view hostile and tedious: some

rocks, red clay, cold, dampness, deep

darkness. But, at a closer look, this

underground scenery reveals its attrac-

tive features.

Well, what can we behold in a cave?

First of all, an architecture typical for

this subterranean space. The horizontal

or slanted strata and the vertical cracks

split the rock along precise lines. Then,

water comes to mould the karstic hol-

low, following the outlines sketched by

the original geological structure. When

the limestone strata are horizontal, we

will see vaults as in Egyptian temples,

bulky beams, flat ceilings. Such con-

structions can be seen in the cave

Limanu near Mangalia or in the cave

Huda lui Paparå on the Arie¿ River

Valley in the Apuseni Mountains.

When the strata run along slanted

lines, the cave ceiling will take the

shape of a tapering roof of a typical

house from the Apuseni Mountains. The

dihedron of the vault sup-

ports easily the towering

weight of the many tons of

rock from above, and the

gallery will keep on exist-

ing for hundreds of thou-

sands of years. The cave

Pe¿tera Ialomi¡ei, Sala Ur-

¿ilor (Room of Bears), or

the huge portal of Cetå¡ile

Ponorului are graphic exam-

ples in this respect.

When water and time

join forces, the vaults can

evolve in mature forms, as

archs or a domes. They

are the most majestic and

lasting and also the most

elegant solutions. From its

very entrance, the cave

Pe¿tera Meziad receives

us with its portal that

seems to have been plot-

ted by an arhitect. The en-

trance to the cave Pe¿tera

Zgurå¿ti or the Sala Bise-

rica (Church Room) in the

Scåri¿oara cave are equal-

ly impressive.

8

Introducere

Introduction

Pe¿tera Meziad/Meziad Cave