# Coiba Mare Cave

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Transylvania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/transilvania) › [Alba County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/alba) › [Casa de Piatră](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/casa-de-piatra)

> An undeveloped cave in the Bihor Mountains near Casa de Piatră: a huge portal, tens of metres high, through which the Gârdișoara stream vanishes underground.

**At a glance:** Caves in Casa de Piatră, Alba County. Opening hours: daily open 24 hours. Ticket: Free. Information verified on 29 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily open 24 hours — The portal can be seen freely, with no opening hours and no ticket desk; the cave has no operator running visits. Avoid rainy days and periods of high water, when the level rises inside the cave.
- **Ticket:** Free — open access, no ticket
- **Best season:** All year round — avoid days of heavy rain
- **Address:** In the Gârdișoara valley, upstream of the village of Casa de Piatră (Arieșeni commune), Casa de Piatră, Alba County
- **Coordinates:** 46.53728, 22.77797
- **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%C8%99tera_Coiba_Mare
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14203894
- **Categories:** [Caves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/pesteri), [National parks and reserves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/parcuri-nationale-si-rezervatii)

## 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.

## Don't miss

- 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

## Details

- **Protected area type:** nature reserve
- **Part of:** Apuseni Natural Park
- **Developed and lit:** No
- **Guided visits only:** No

## Frequently asked questions about Coiba Mare Cave

**How much is a ticket to Coiba Mare Cave?**

Admission to Coiba Mare Cave is free (open access, no ticket). Access to the portal is free of charge; there is no ticket desk or visitor fee.

**What are the opening hours of Coiba Mare Cave?**

Opening hours at Coiba Mare Cave: daily open 24 hours. The portal can be seen freely, with no opening hours and no ticket desk; the cave has no operator running visits. Avoid rainy days and periods of high water, when the level rises inside the cave.

**How do I get to Coiba Mare Cave?**

Coiba Mare Cave is located at In the Gârdișoara valley, upstream of the village of Casa de Piatră (Arieșeni commune), Casa de Piatră, Alba County. 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.

**When is the best time to visit Coiba Mare Cave?**

The best season for Coiba Mare Cave: All year round (avoid days of heavy rain).

## Nearby attractions

- [Vârtop Cave](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/pestera-ghetarul-de-la-vartop) — Caves · Casa de Piatră, AB · 15 lei · 1 km
  An undeveloped cave in the Bihor Mountains, with ice at the entrance and white formations, where a Neanderthal footprint at least 62,000 years old was found in 1974.
- [Scărișoara Ice Cave](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/pestera-ghetarul-de-la-scarisoara) — Caves · Ghețari, AB · 45 min · Top 100 · 8 km
  A cave in the Apuseni Mountains that holds one of the largest underground glaciers in the world: a block of ice over 10,000 years old, reached by stairs down a shaft 60 m across.
- [Cetățile Ponorului](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cetatile-ponorului) — Caves · Bihor County · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · Top 100 · 8 km
  A karst complex on the Padiș Plateau: three huge sinkholes with walls over 200 m high and a portal over 70 m tall where the Cetăților stream vanishes into the mountain. Seen from a marked hiking loop, not a show cave.
- [Transursoaia](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/transursoaia) — Scenic roads · Alba County · Free · 2½ – 3 hours · 11 km
  National road DN1R, 80 km through the Apuseni Mountains between Huedin and Albac: past Lake Beliș-Fântânele, through the Moți villages and over the Ursoaia Pass, at about 1,320 m.
- [Vârtop Pass](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/pasul-vartop) — Scenic roads · Bihor County · Free · 11 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.
- [Focul Viu Ice Cave](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/pestera-ghetarul-de-la-focul-viu) — 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.

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Last updated: 29 September 2026
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