The Scărișoara Cave (Peștera Scărișoara) is an ice cave in the Apuseni Mountains that houses the largest underground glacier in Romania. The cave is located in Ghețari, which is part of the commune of Gârda de Sus in Alba County. The cave was however named after the village of Scărișoara, to which it belonged in the past.
The Scărișoara Cave was formed during glaciations 3,500 years ago, when the mountains were covered by snow and ice. It’s not known when the cave was first discovered, but it was first mentioned by the Austrian geographer Arnold Schmidl in 1863. The cave is located at an altitude of 1,150 meters above sea level and has a depth of 120 meters and a length of 720 meters.
The total estimated volume of ice in the cave is 75,000 cubic meters and can be up to 20 meters thick. The temperature inside the cave fluctuates between +1 °C in summer and -7 °C in the winter. Every year new ice forms while a small part melts and flows away at the bottom. This is a slow process and researchers have estimated that the core of the ice in the cave is approximately 4,000 years old. This means that the glacier contains incredibly valuable information for scientists.
Visiting The Scărișoara Cave
A large part of the cave can be visited by tourists without a guide. After buying an entrance ticket several metal stairs guide you through the entrance shaft to the Great Hall. The room is approximately 108 meters long and 78 meters wide and contains the Pool of Ice and a nearly 18-meter-tall ice cliff. At the end of the tourist circuit, there is a balcony overlooking the Church Hall, where you can see about 100 ice stalagmites. Completing the entire circuit takes about 30 minutes.
Make sure to take a jacket with you as the temperature inside the cave is around 0 °C.
How To Get To The Scărișoara Cave
The Scărișoara Cave is located near the village of Ghețari in the Apuseni Mountains and due to its remote location, you need your own transportation or a guided tour to get there. Car rental is available in all major cities and airports in Romania.
To get to the cave you need to take the exit from the national road DN75 onto the DJ750 in Gârda de Sus. This is a very narrow, but a paved road and a scenic drive through the Ordâncușa Canyon so take you time to enjoy the surroundings. You can either continue on this road, or take a shortcut by taking a left turn towards Dobrești. Both roads are scenic, so you can also make a loop by taking differents routes on the way there and back.
You can drive up to the village of Ghețari where you need to park and take a short walk to the entrance of the cave, during which you’ll pass by several stalls selling souvenirs, drinks and snacks.
