# Bears' Cave

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Crișana](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/crisana) › [Bihor County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/bihor) › [Chișcău](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/chiscau)

> Romania's most visited cave: 488 m of lit galleries beneath the village of Chișcău, full of stalactites and stalagmites, with the bones of some 140 cave bears left where they were found.

[Top 100 in Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/top-100)

**At a glance:** Caves in Chișcău, Bihor County. Opening hours: daily 09:00 – 18:00. Ticket: 40 lei. The visit takes 45 min. Information verified on 28 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily 09:00 – 18:00 — Open daily all year, including public holidays, with last entry at 17:00 (official website, checked in September 2026). Entry is only with a guide, in groups of at least three people; a tour lasts about 45 minutes. The Apuseni Natural Park website lists different hours (Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00) and refers visitors to the cave's own site for confirmation; if you are going in winter or first thing in the morning, ring ahead.
- **Ticket:** 40 lei — same price for children
- **Visit duration:** 45 min — guided tour, in a group
- **With kids:** Yes — steps and walkways; 10 °C
- **Parking:** Yes, free — by the pavilion at the entrance
- **Best season:** All year round — 10 °C all year, bring a jacket
- **Address:** On the edge of the village, on the DC 252; access from Sudrigiu (DN 76 / E79), along the DN 763, Chișcău, Bihor County
- **Coordinates:** 46.5539, 22.5693
- **Phone:** +40 744 638 244
- **Website:** https://www.pesteraursilor.ro/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bears%27_Cave
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q989608
- **Categories:** [Caves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/caves), [National parks and reserves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/national-parks-and-reserves)

## 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.

## Don't miss

- 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

## Details

- **Protected area type:** natural monument
- **Part of:** Apuseni Natural Park
- **Total length:** 1,500 m
- **Visitor route:** 488 m
- **Inside temperature:** 10 °C
- **Altitude:** 482 m
- **Developed and lit:** Yes
- **Guided visits only:** Yes

## Frequently asked questions about Bears' Cave

**How much is a ticket to Bears' Cave?**

A ticket to Bears' Cave costs 40 lei (same price for children). More under “Fees & discounts”.

**What are the opening hours of Bears' Cave?**

Opening hours at Bears' Cave: daily 09:00 – 18:00. More under “Opening hours”.

**How long does a visit to Bears' Cave take?**

A visit to Bears' Cave takes about 45 min (guided tour, in a group).

**Can you visit Bears' Cave with kids?**

Yes, Bears' Cave is suitable for children (steps and walkways; 10 °C).

**Where can I park at Bears' Cave?**

There is free parking at Bears' Cave (by the pavilion at the entrance). More under “Where to park”.

**How do I get to Bears' Cave?**

Bears' Cave is located at On the edge of the village, on the DC 252; access from Sudrigiu (DN 76 / E79), along the DN 763, Chișcău, Bihor County. More under “Getting there”.

**When is the best time to visit Bears' Cave?**

The best season for Bears' Cave: All year round (10 °C all year, bring a jacket).

## Nearby attractions

- [Coliboaia Cave](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/coliboaia-cave) — Caves · Câmpani, BH · 4 km
  A cave in the Sighiștel Valley, in the Bihor Mountains, with charcoal cave drawings some 32,000–36,000 years old, considered the oldest in Central Europe; closed to the public.
- [Saint John Chrysostom Wooden Church in Stâncești](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/saint-john-chrysostom-wooden-church-in-stancesti) — Churches · Stâncești, BH · 20 min · 8 km
  A small wooden church of around 1752, with a tall tower and a shingle spire, in a village cemetery in the Beiuș Land, with traces of painting by David Zugravul.
- [Focul Viu Ice Cave](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/focul-viu-ice-cave) — Caves · Pietroasa, BH · Free · 11 km
  An ice cave in the forests of the Galbena Valley near Padiș, reached on foot along a marked trail. Around midday, light pours in through a hole in the roof and falls on the ice.
- [Vârtop Pass](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/vartop-pass) — Scenic roads · Bihor County · Free · 12 km
  The pass where the DN75 crosses the Bihor Mountains at 1,160 m, between Nucet and Arieșeni: the Vârtop holiday village, ski slopes and trails to Groapa Ruginoasă and Piatra Grăitoare.
- [Piatra Grăitoare Ski Slope](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/piatra-graitoare-ski-slope) — Ski slopes · Nucet, BH · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · 12 km
  A ski slope with a chairlift in the Vârtop holiday village, on the Bihor side of the Apuseni Mountains: a red and a black run through spruce forest, floodlit skiing and a drag lift for beginners.
- [Arieșeni](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/arieseni) — Ski slopes · Arieșeni, AB · Free · 4½ – 5 hours · 12 km
  A tourist resort in the Apuseni Mountains, at the source of the Arieș: the Vârtop I and Vârtop II slopes, with drag lifts and floodlit skiing, below the Vârtop Pass, plus trails to Piatra Grăitoare and Bihor Peak.

## Featured in the guides

- [Caves in Romania: the ones you can visit, by area, with a map](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/caves-in-romania) — 37 caves in Romania you can visit, by area: Bears' Cave, Scărișoara, Women's Cave, Ialomița, Polovragi. What is open now, tickets, map, what to bring.
- [Apuseni caves: a 2–3 day route through Bihor and Alba](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/apuseni-caves) — 13 caves to visit in the Apuseni Mountains, ~350 km from Oradea to Gârda de Sus: Meziad, Bears' Cave, Padiș, Scărișoara. Order, distances, what is closed.
- [The nearest cave to Bucharest, Brașov, Cluj, Sibiu, Oradea and Timișoara: distances for a day trip](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/nearest-cave-to-bucharest-brasov-cluj) — Ialomița Cave is 160 km from Bucharest, Valea Cetății 18 km from Brașov, Vadu Crișului 55 km from Oradea, Românești 100 km from Timișoara. Distances, times.
- [Famous caves in Romania you cannot visit: Movile, Topolnița, Vântului, Coliboaia, Peștera cu Oase (and what to see instead)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/caves-you-cannot-visit-in-romania) — Movile, Coliboaia, Cu Oase, Cloșani and Piatra Altarului are closed; Topolnița and Tăușoare need a permit; Wind Cave is open with a caving guide.
- [Stalactites and stalagmites: what they are, how a cave forms and where to see them in Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/stalactites-and-stalagmites) — Stalactites hang from the ceiling, stalagmites grow up from the floor. They usually grow less than 10 cm in 1,000 years. How caves form and where to see them.

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Last updated: 28 September 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania