About Bears' Cave
On 17 September 1975 a blast at the limestone quarry on the edge of the village of Chișcău accidentally opened an underground void that had been sealed for tens of thousands of years. The first man to climb down the shaft was Traian Curta, a miner from the village. A few days later the amateur cavers of the "Speodava" club in Ștei worked their way through the galleries, and the research was taken over by the "Emil Racoviță" Institute of Speleology together with the Țara Crișurilor Museum in Oradea. After five years of study and construction work, the cave opened to visitors on 14 July 1980.
Its name comes from the bones. In 1983 some 140 skeletons of cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), a species that died out at the end of the last Ice Age, were found on its floor, along with claw marks, hollows dug in the clay for sleeping, and fossils of chamois, ibex, lion and cave hyena. The animals came in to spend the winter and were trapped when the way out closed. The cave is over 1,500 m long and runs on two levels: the upper gallery, 488 m long, is the one laid out and lit for visitors, while the lower one, 521 m long, is reserved for research. With more than 200,000 visitors a year, it is the busiest attraction in Crișana.
What you can see
The tour begins in the Bones Gallery, right by the entrance, where the bear bones are left exactly as they were found and the crack through which the cave was first entered in 1975 is visible in the roof; here the rock above is only 2 m thick, the thinnest anywhere in the cave. From the junction of the three galleries runs the Emil Racoviță Gallery, the largest in the developed section, with columns, draperies and formations the guides have named: the Dwarfs' House, the Mastodon, the Enchanted Palaces, the Water-Lily Lake.
The way back goes through the Candles Gallery, named after the thin white stalactites that hang like candles, and past the Spaghetti Hall and the Council of the Elders, the last chamber on the route. Somewhere along the way a complete cave bear skeleton lies on the clay floor where it was found, skull and paws in plain view. At the exit, the pavilion by the entrance houses a small speleological museum and a stall of local craft work.
Good to know
Inside it is 10 °C all year and very humid, whatever the season: bring a jacket and shoes with good grip, the floor is damp. Entry is only with a guide, in groups of at least three people, and the commentary is in Romanian; the tour lasts about 45 minutes.
- The Bones Gallery, where the cave bear bones are left on the ground just as they were found, under a roof only 2 m thick.
- The complete cave bear skeleton, displayed on the clay floor at the very spot where it was discovered.
- The crack in the roof by the entrance, opened by the 1975 blast, through which the cave was first entered.
- The formations in the Emil Racoviță Gallery: the Dwarfs' House, the Mastodon and the Enchanted Palaces.
- The thin white stalactites of the Candles Gallery, which gave the gallery its name.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: Chișcău is 6 km off the DN 76 (E79) Oradea – Deva road at Sudrigiu: at Sudrigiu turn east onto the DN 763, the road towards Arieșeni, and the cave is signposted at the edge of the village. From Oradea it is ~90 km via Beiuș (~1h40), from Beiuș 24 km (~30 minutes), from Ștei 16 km (~25 minutes), from Deva ~120 km (~2h15). From Cluj-Napoca you can come over the mountains, ~135 km on the DN 75 and DN 763 via Albac and the Vârtop pass (~3 hours of mountain road), or the longer way round through Oradea and Beiuș, which takes about the same.
Public transport: regular minibuses run Oradea – Beiuș – Ștei/Vașcău along the DN 76 and stop at Sudrigiu (~1h30 from Oradea); from there it is 6 km to the cave, with no scheduled service — take a taxi from Beiuș or walk. The nearest stations are Beiuș and Ștei, on the Oradea – Vașcău line, with only a few trains a day.
- Where to park
Free parking next to the pavilion at the cave entrance, at the end of the road through the village. On summer weekends and in the school holidays it fills up by midday, and people park along the road through Chișcău, a few hundred metres away.
- Fees & discounts
The official price (September 2026) is 40 lei, the same for adults and children. For organised groups of at least 20 people, one accompanying adult (teacher, guide or organiser) goes in free for every 10 paying members. Tickets are bought at the ticket desk in the pavilion; bring cash as well, as the internet signal in the area is poor and card payment does not always work. The official website lists no reduced rates for pupils, students or pensioners; ask at the desk.
- Rules
Visits are only with a guide, in groups of at least three people, and the commentary is in Romanian. No food or alcoholic drinks are allowed inside, and no pets. Do not touch or break the stalactites and stalagmites and do not step off the walkways: the bones and bear hollows are left in situ. For filming and photography inside, the operator requires the written consent of the Apuseni Natural Park Administration. It is 10 °C and very humid all year: dress warmly and wear shoes with grip, as the route has steps and slippery stretches.
- Facilities
Pavilion at the entrance, with a waiting room, ticket desk, bar and a small speleological museum · souvenir and local craft shop · toilets at the pavilion · free car park · guesthouses and restaurants in Chișcău and Pietroasa · an ethnographic museum in the village, a few minutes' walk away · the route inside has steps and narrow walkways and is not pushchair- or wheelchair-accessible · weak mobile signal in the area
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