Scărișoara Cave

Lore & Background

Scărișoara Cave is located in the Apuseni Mountains of western Romania, at an altitude of about 1150 meters above sea level. It is considered one of the largest ice caves in the region and is classified as both a show cave and a glacier cave. The cave was first recorded in 1863 by the Austrian geographer Arnold Schmidl, who produced initial observations and a map. Later, between 1921 and 1923, the Romanian speleologist Emil Racoviță studied the cave and discussed its origin in his 1927 work on speleology. The ice within the cave formed approximately 3,500 years ago during glacial periods when the mountains were covered with snow and ice. The cave measures 120 meters in depth and 720 meters in length. Its entrance is a shaft 60 meters in diameter and 50 meters deep, accessible via metal stairs. This leads to the Great Hall, a chamber roughly 108 meters long and 78 meters wide, which contains an ice cliff nearly 18 meters tall overlooking a pool called the Pool of Ice. From the Great Hall, passages lead to other named chambers, including the Church, which holds over 100 ice stalagmites, as well as the Great Reservation, Coman Gallery, and Little Reservation. The ice volume in the cave is estimated at 75,000 cubic meters, with thickness reaching up to 20 meters in some places. The cave is part of the Ghețar–Ocoale–Dobrești karst system and is composed of Upper Jurassic limestone. Its formation involved the dissolution of limestone and the collapse of the entrance sinkhole, which later filled with ice during glaciations. The tourist-accessible section includes the entrance shaft, the Great Hall, and the Church; other areas are reserved for scientific research.

Reader's Guide

Scărișoara Cave supports a specialized ecosystem adapted to its cold, dark environment. Among its permanent inhabitants are bats and a small endemic insect, the 2–3 mm long *Pholeuon prozerpinae glaciale*. A skeleton of a Rupicapra (chamois) was also discovered within the Big Reservation chamber, indicating past use of the cave by larger mammals. The cave’s ice, which has an estimated volume and can reach considerable thickness in places, creates a microclimate where summer temperatures rise to only +1 °C and winter lows drop to -7 °C; the tourist section maintains an average near 0 °C. First documented in 1863 by Austrian geographer Arnold Schmidl, who produced the initial map, the cave was later studied extensively by Romanian speleologist Emil Racoviță between 1921 and 1923. He included it in his 1927 work *Speologia*. The ice formation began approximately 3,500 years ago during glacial periods. The cave is part of the Ghețar–Ocoale–Dobrești karst system, developed in Upper Jurassic limestone, and its dry void resulted from the collapse of the entrance sinkhole. Designated a show cave and listed among the Seven Natural Wonders of Romania, it serves as a key site for both tourism—with public access to the entrance shaft, Great Hall, and Church—and ongoing scientific research, for which special permission is required to enter the deeper chambers.

Did You Know?

• A Rupicapra skeleton was discovered in the Big Reservation.
• The cave is home to small bugs (2–3 mm long) called Pholeuon prozerpinae glaciale.