Scarisoara Cave is one of the largest ice caves in Romania, formed 3,500 years ago during glacial periods when the Apuseni Mountains were covered in snow and ice. The 720 meter long cave contains over 100 ice stalagmites and has an estimated 75,000 cubic meters of ice, with depths of up to 20 meters thick in places. It was first explored and mapped in the 1860s and 1920s and remains one of Romania's natural wonders.

1. SCARISOARA CAVE

2. WHAT IS IT ?
- One of the biggest ice caves in the Apuseni Mountains of Romania, Carpathian chain.
- Show cave and one of the natural wonders of Romania.
- Described as glacier cave.

3. HISTORY
- The cave formed 3,500 years ago, during glaciations, when these mountains were
covered by snow and ice.
- 1863: Austrian geographer Arnold Schmidl, made observations and the first map of the
cave.
- 1921/1923: Emil Racovita, explored the cave and mentioned it and its origin in his 1927
work Speologia.

4. DESCRIPTION
- Altitude above sea level: 1,150 m
- Depth: 120 m
- Length: 720 m
- The entrance leads into several named rooms: the Church, which features over 100 ice
stalagmites, the Great Reservation, Coman Gallery to the left, and Little Reservation to
the right.
- Interesting fact: the ice within the cave has an estimated volume of 75,000 cubic
metres and in some places can be as thick as 20 m.