Apuseni Natural Park

Apuseni Mountains Nature Park was among 22 destinations to be designated "European Destination of Excellence" in 2009 as part of Europe's Protected Habitats Program. This thanks to its marvelous natural landscapes and geological history! Its character is defined by its karst landscape, with deep sinkholes, deep valleys and gentle ridges alternating with rocky areas with canyons and gorges, above a network of more than 3500 underground caves!

The Apuseni park is distinguished with Romania's highest and largest cave portals - Cetatile Ponorului (Fortresses of Ponor) at 76 m, Coiba Mare Portal at 54 m in width, Hollow Varasvoaia at 642 m - the deepest. Here is the biggest area with caves - more than 200 caves in 10 sq km!

You could say that the natural wonders are countless! You could get lost (with wonder) in the " Platoul Lumea Pierduta" (Lost World Karst Plateau), or into the Ruginoasa Pit, The Bears' Cave, Galbenei Gorge, Scarisoara Cave with the underground glacier.

The Scarisoara Cave houses the largest underground glacier in Romania. (Scarisoara meaning "little stair" - because of the stair that you have to take to go underground!) The entrance to the Scarisoara Glacier is through an impressive aven, whose mouth, with a diameter of 60 m, opens into the forest on the edge of the plateau. A narrow path dug into the rock and a few metal ladders anchored in the walls facilitate the descent of the 48 m depth of the avenue. A thick layer of snow is kept on its bottom throughout the year. Here you enter the Great Hall through an impressive portal measuring 24 m wide and 17 m high. 

The topography of the Scarisoara Glacier is simple, because the cave is a unique room with a total development of 700 m. In the middle of this room there is a huge block of ice, with a volume of 80,000 m3 and which has been in the cave for over 4,000 years. Another example is The Cave called "Glacier of the Living Fire" -  another underground cave glacier, who is sometimes shined upon by sunrays that penetrate inside through a cave window - hence the name!  The open window in the ceiling favors the accumulation of cold air, and the lack of ventilation keeps the cold air inside the cavity, thus allowing the glacier to exist throughout the year.

This place is a heaven for speleology enthusiasts. Even though the Apuseni Mountains are not as high  as other in the coutnry (max 1849m in Peak Bihor), the sights are also amazing due to the karstic features!

The Apuseni Natural Park is a protected area of national interest that corresponds to the terrestrial landscape type natural park category, located in Romania, on the administrative territories of Alba, Cluj and Bihor counties. It is very accesible from cities like Cluj-Napoca, in Transylvania.