Due to the fact that our country is full of landscapes that often leave you speechless, I decided to visit a special place, namely the Apuseni Mountains.

These mountains are one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Romania. The landscapes will take your breath away, the people of the place will cheer up your soul, and the sights are in the hundreds.

Numerous wild quays, sparkling waterfalls, caves of impressive beauty or size and peaks adorn the Apuseni Mountains with real landscape treasures.

I have prepared a list of some of the most beautiful places to visit in the Apuseni Mountains, you have the time and desire to discover them. But don’t forget that besides them it’s important to enjoy the walks in the area, the peace that this wonderful place offers you.

Peștera Ghetarul de la Vârtop: is known and appears under several names the Wonderful Cave or Glacier of the Stone House and is the place where the oldest trace of Neanderthal man in Romania was found.

On the way to the cave you can visit some beautiful places such as: „ Izbucul Tăuz, Peștera Coiba Mare și Peștera Coiba Mică ”.

The route climbs constantly through the forest on an unmarked path, but marked by a sign at the side of the main road in the hamlet of The Stone House.

After a climb of about 45 minutes we reach the entrance portal of the cave – a portal of quite large size (15 meters wide and 5 meters high). We immediately go inside and are surprised to see a series of ice icicles hanging from the ceiling of the cave. We are in the Glacier Hall – a wide hall of approx. 70 meters. Moreover, we also see ice columns obtained by joining the stalactites and ice stalagmites in this room that precede the cave itself.

We’ve been walking all over this fascinating room and we can’t wait to see what’s waiting for us in the restricted part of the cave. After the guide opens the metal gate we enter through a narrow and dark aisle so that finally we are revealed a series of large rooms with calcite shapes of impressive complexity.

 Peștera Coiba Mare:  has the largest cave portal in Romania, its size can only be compared with the portal of Ponor Fortress. It is a cave with a total length of 5050 meters and comprises a labyrinth of fossil galleries, located at different levels, on either side of the active gallery, in the sector at the entrance.

Access to the cave is possible only to the first hall, called the Great Hall, whohass size does not deny the proportions of the portal at the entrance. It quickly narrows to the bottom. From here, access is possible only to those experienced in such explorations; and equipped with special equipment.

Izbucul Tăuzului: is a protected area of national interest.

At the base of a rocky wall that heads almost vertically towards the sky, the water that entered about 2.5 km further up the hill through the huge portal of the Coiba Mare cave finally comes to light, through  „Izbucul Tăuz”.

Access to the little green eye of water is relatively easy.

 

These are just a few places I’ve visited and I can say that I was impressed by these landscapes and the beautiful colors highlighted here. It was a great day spent with beautiful people and I recommend to all those who love nature and hiking not to miss the opportunity to visit these exceptional places.

And remember, man and nature combine best.

                                                                               Wishing you the best,

                                                                                                                                                                              Daniela Hulub