# Comarnic Cave

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Banat](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/banat) › [Caraș-Severin County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/caras-severin) › [Iabalcea](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/iabalcea)

> A wild, unlit cave in the Anina Mountains with more than 6 km of passages on three levels, 1,750 m of which you explore with a helmet and head torch, led by the national park's rangers.

**At a glance:** Caves in Iabalcea, Caraș-Severin County. Opening hours: Monday–Friday closed, Saturday–Sunday 10:30 – 17:30. Open from 1 April to 31 October. Ticket: 35 lei. The visit takes 1½ – 2 hours. Information verified on 28 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** Monday–Friday closed, Saturday–Sunday 10:30 – 17:30 — Open from 1 April to 31 October — Open from April to October. On Saturdays and Sundays guided entries are at 10:30, 13:00 and 15:30 (each tour lasts about two hours), for groups of at least 5 people. From Monday to Friday a guide is available only on request, by phone booking made at least 24 hours ahead, again for groups of at least 5 people. From November until spring the cave is closed while the bats hibernate. It was closed at Easter in 2025; around public holidays, ring first.
- **Ticket:** 35 lei — 20 lei pupils and students
- **Visit duration:** 1½ – 2 hours — ranger-led tour, about 2 hours
- **With kids:** Yes — 2 hours, slippery, low roof
- **Best season:** April – October — closed in winter, for the bats
- **Address:** Caraș valley, near the Comarnic forestry lodge; access via Iabalcea and the Padina Seacă forestry lodge, Iabalcea, Caraș-Severin County
- **Coordinates:** 45.17826, 21.94742
- **Phone:** +40 727 506 575
- **Website:** https://pnscc.ro/ro/pestera-comarnic/
- **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%C8%99tera_Comarnic
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q82368
- **Categories:** [Caves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/caves), [National parks and reserves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/national-parks-and-reserves)

## About Comarnic Cave

Comarnic Cave lies in the Caraș valley, in the Anina Mountains, roughly halfway between Reșița and Anina, inside the Semenic – Caraș Gorge National Park. It was carved by the Ponicova stream, which enters the mountain through an opening at 473 m, passes beneath Navesul Mare hill and comes out on the other side at 443 m, a few hundred metres from the Comarnic forestry lodge. With 6,201 m of surveyed passages, it is the second longest cave in the Banat, after Buhui Cave.

The passages are arranged on three levels: one where water flows all the time, one flooded only when the stream is in spate, and a dry, fossil level, the only one open to the public. The cave has been a speleological reserve since 1947 and has never been fitted with electric lighting: visits are in groups only, with a park ranger, by the light of head torches, which keeps its wild feel.

### What you can see

The tourist route follows the fossil level for 1,750 m, with only basic fittings. It passes through the Small Boulder Hall and the Great Boulder Hall, strewn with large rocks fallen from the roof, then the Museum, the Great Organ, the Chinese Walls and the Treasury, as far as the Dome Hall. Along the way you see wide passages with sand banks, columns, draperies and massive stalagmites, calcite floors and large rimstone pools, some of them full of water. The cave is home to more than 120 species of invertebrates and to bat colonies, which you can sometimes see hanging from the roof.

### Good to know

It can only be visited from April to October; in winter it is closed so as not to disturb the hibernating bats. At weekends entry is in groups of at least 5 people, and on weekdays only by phone booking made at least 24 hours ahead. The tour lasts about two hours, it is around 10 °C and very damp inside, and in places the floor is slippery and the roof low.

## Don't miss

- The Great Boulder Hall, a wide chamber strewn with rocks fallen from the roof.
- The Museum, the Great Organ and the Chinese Walls, the named groups of formations along the tourist route.
- The sand and gravel banks in the wide passages of the fossil level, left by the stream's old course.
- The rimstone pools, large calcite basins, some of them filled with clear water.
- The tour in complete darkness, lit only by your head torch, with a park ranger.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** from Reșița take the DN58 towards Anina; at kilometre 9 turn left towards Iabalcea, cross the village and carry on along the road that drops towards the Caraș valley, as far as the Padina Seacă forestry lodge. From there it is about 45 minutes on foot to the cave; the road can also be driven. In all it is ~23 km from Reșița (~40 minutes), ~32 km from Anina and ~117 km from Timișoara (~2h20).

**Public transport:** the nearest railway station is in Reșița. No scheduled services to Iabalcea or to the cave are confirmed, so the last stretch is by car, taxi or on foot, along the park's waymarked trails.

### Where to park

The park administration does not list an official car park. You leave the car at the Padina Seacă forestry lodge, about 45 minutes' walk away, or closer to the cave if the road allows. Ask the ranger when you book where best to leave the car.

### Fees & discounts

Official prices: 35 lei for adults and 20 lei for pupils and students. The minimum group is 5 people; if there are fewer of you, you pay for five tickets. A safety helmet and head torch are provided by the park administration. The park also has a visitor fee, which can be paid by text message to 7473 with the word SEMENIC; it is not clear whether it is charged on top of the cave ticket, so ask when you book.

### Rules

The cave can only be visited with the park's rangers, the administration's licensed guides. The route has only basic fittings: take care not to slip or hit your head on the roof or walls. You need mountain boots with good grip and warm clothes, for about 10 °C and high humidity. Do not touch or break the formations and do not disturb the bats; the cave is a speleological reserve.

### Facilities

Safety helmet and head torch provided by the park administration · no information on toilets, a shop or a café at the cave · accommodation in Reșița, Carașova and around Semenic · the route has boulders and slippery stretches and is not pushchair- or wheelchair-accessible

## Details

- **Protected area type:** speleological reserve
- **Part of:** Semenic – Caraș Gorge National Park
- **Total length:** 6,201 m
- **Visitor route:** 1,750 m
- **Inside temperature:** 10 °C
- **Altitude:** 443 m
- **Developed and lit:** No
- **Guided visits only:** Yes

## Frequently asked questions about Comarnic Cave

**How much is a ticket to Comarnic Cave?**

A ticket to Comarnic Cave costs 35 lei (20 lei pupils and students). More under “Fees & discounts”.

**What are the opening hours of Comarnic Cave?**

Opening hours at Comarnic Cave: Monday–Friday closed, Saturday–Sunday 10:30 – 17:30. More under “Opening hours”.

**How long does a visit to Comarnic Cave take?**

A visit to Comarnic Cave takes about 1½ – 2 hours (ranger-led tour, about 2 hours).

**Can you visit Comarnic Cave with kids?**

Yes, Comarnic Cave is suitable for children (2 hours, slippery, low roof).

**How do I get to Comarnic Cave?**

Comarnic Cave is located at Caraș valley, near the Comarnic forestry lodge; access via Iabalcea and the Padina Seacă forestry lodge, Iabalcea, Caraș-Severin County. More under “Getting there”.

**When is the best time to visit Comarnic Cave?**

The best season for Comarnic Cave: April – October (closed in winter, for the bats).

## Nearby attractions

- [Semenic – Caraș Gorge National Park](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/semenic-caras-gorge-national-park) — National parks and reserves · Carașova, CS · 2 euro + TVA · 4½ – 5 hours · UNESCO World Heritage · 8 km
  A 36,000 ha national park in the Banat, with the 19 km Caraș Gorge, the Semenic plateau, over 800 caves and the virgin beech forest of Izvoarele Nerei, a UNESCO site.
- [Casa Baraj Ski Slope](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/casa-baraj-ski-slope) — Ski slopes · Văliug, CS · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · 10 km
  A small ski area at Văliug, on the shore of Lake Gozna, at the foot of the Semenic: an easy slope with a chairlift and a short, difficult one with a drag lift, both floodlit for night skiing.
- [Semenic Resort](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/semenic-resort) — Ski slopes · Văliug, CS · Free · 4½ – 5 hours · 11 km
  A mountain resort at about 1,400 m on the plateau of the Semenic Mountains, beneath Piatra Goznei Peak: slopes with drag lifts in winter, hiking in the Semenic – Caraș Gorge National Park in summer.
- [Transsemenic](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/transsemenic) — Scenic roads · Caraș-Severin County · Free · 2½ – 3 hours · 15 km
  County road DJ582 crosses the Semenic Mountains for 58 km, from Reșița through Văliug and the Prislop Pass to Slatina-Timiș, past mountain lakes, pastures and the villages of Gărâna and Brebu Nou.
- [Gărâna](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/garana) — Ski slopes · Gărâna, CS · Free · 4½ – 5 hours · 16 km
  A mountain village of Bohemian German settlers in the Semenic Mountains, above 900 m: short slopes with a drag lift and snowmaking, a 700 m zip line and tubing, and in summer the Gărâna Jazz Festival in the Poiana Lupului meadow.
- [Reșița Steam Locomotive Museum](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/resita-steam-locomotive-museum) — Museums and memorial houses · Reșița, CS · 40 min · 21 km
  An open-air museum opened in 1972 in Triaj Park, Reșița: 16 steam locomotives, most of them built in the town's works, led by the “Resicza” of 1872.

## 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.
- [The largest cave in Romania and the other records: the longest, the deepest, the oldest show cave](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/largest-cave-in-romania) — Longest: Wind Cave, over 42 km. Deepest: Avenul de sub Vârful Grind, −815 m. Largest halls: Humpleu. Plus the oldest show cave and the ice cave record.
- [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.

---

Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/comarnic-cave
Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/pestera-comarnic.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/hoehle-comarnic.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/grotta-comarnic.md · Français: https://peplaiuri.ro/fr/grotte-de-comarnic.md · Español: https://peplaiuri.ro/es/cueva-de-comarnic.md · Magyar: https://peplaiuri.ro/hu/comarnic-barlang.md
Last updated: 28 September 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania