About Coiba Mare Cave
In the Gârdișoara valley, just upstream of the village of Casa de Piatră, the spruce forest drops into a hollow at the end of which a limestone arch tens of metres high and wide opens up. The Apuseni Natural Park Administration describes it as the largest cave entrance in Romania and counts Coiba Mare, together with Cetățile Ponorului, among the largest ponors in Europe: this is where the valley's waters disappear into the mountain.
The cave is an active ponor, a mouth through which a river goes underground. The waters of the Gârdișoara first sink into Coiba Mică, a little further up the valley, pass through a sump into Coiba Mare and come back to daylight a few kilometres away, at the Tăuz spring in the Gârda Seacă valley. The mapped passages add up to around 5 km, on several levels. The cave is a nature reserve and part of Apuseni Natural Park.
What you can see
The cave is undeveloped: there are no paths, railings or lighting. An ordinary visitor sees the portal, from below and from inside, and the start of the Great Hall as far as daylight reaches, with its boulder floor and the trickle of water slipping under the vault. Seen from inside, the arch frames the forest like an immense window. Further in, the hall narrows like a funnel, and the passages with lakes, waterfalls and sumps are for equipped cavers only.
Good to know
Do not go on into the dark without caving gear and experience. After heavy rain, when the Gârdișoara is running high, the water rises, can flood the narrow passages and can cut off the way out: in wet weather stay outside, at the portal. Nearby, also by Casa de Piatră, the Vârtop Ice Cave can be visited with a guide.
- The portal seen from below, from the boulder-strewn bed, with people reduced to dots under the arch.
- The view from inside towards the mouth, where the arch frames the spruce forest like a giant window.
- The trickle of water running under the vault and disappearing into the depths of the cave, in the Great Hall.
- The marked trail down the Gârda Seacă valley from Casa de Piatră, with a detour to the Tăuz spring, where the waters from Coiba Mare come back to the surface.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: from the DN 75 (Câmpeni – Arieșeni), in Gârda de Sus follow the road up the Gârda Seacă valley to Casa de Piatră, ~14 km. The road is narrow and largely unpaved; accounts describe it as being in poor condition, so allow up to an hour for this stretch. Gârda de Sus is ~30 km from Câmpeni, ~110 km from Alba Iulia, ~150 km from Cluj-Napoca via Turda and ~130 km from Oradea via Beiuș and the Vârtop pass. From the road you walk down a steep slope to the portal.
Public transport: there is no service to Casa de Piatră. Minibuses along the DN 75 reach Gârda de Sus; from there you can walk up. Casa de Piatră is also on the park's waymarked trails: the blue triangle Padiș Chalet – Casa de Piatră – Scărișoara Ice Cave (~17.5 km, ~5 hours) and the red cross from Poiana Glăvoi.
- Fees & discounts
Access to the portal is free of charge; there is no ticket desk or visitor fee.
- Rules
The cave is undeveloped and has no guides: the portal and the start of the Great Hall, lit by daylight, can be seen from the entrance, and the rest of the passages are for equipped cavers only (helmet, a main and a spare light, caving suit, experience of wet caves). The Apuseni Natural Park Administration requires the park's approval and, where applicable, a permit from the Speleological Heritage Commission to explore undeveloped caves; unauthorised access is punishable. Do not go into the cave in wet weather: the water level can rise quickly and close off the narrow passages. As in any nature reserve, leave no litter, do not break formations and do not light fires.
- Facilities
No facilities at the cave: no toilets, shop or lighting · the way down to the portal is a steep, boulder-strewn slope, not accessible with a pushchair or wheelchair
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