# Ponicova Cave

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Oltenia](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/oltenia) › [Mehedinți County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/mehedinti) › [Dubova](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/dubova)

> The largest cave in the Danube Gorge, with more than 1.6 km of passages running through Ciucaru Mare; entered from the Ponicova Gorge, off the DN 57, or from the Danube by boat.

**At a glance:** Caves in Dubova, Mehedinți County. The visit takes 2 – 2½ hours. Information verified on 30 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** Can be visited all year; May–October is the recommended period, and in floods the Ponicova Gallery can be fully or partly flooded.
- **Visit duration:** 2 – 2½ hours — the whole cave, 2–3 hours
- **Best season:** May – October — the gallery floods in high water
- **Address:** Ponicova Gorge, by the DN 57, at the exit from Dubova towards Moldova Nouă; the second entrance, at the Danube, by boat only, Dubova, Mehedinți County
- **Coordinates:** 44.59596, 22.25672
- **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%C8%99tera_Ponicova
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12737966
- **Categories:** [Caves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/caves)

## About Ponicova Cave

Ponicova Cave, also called the Water Mouth Cave or the Bat Cave, is the largest cave in the Danube Gorge: its passages add up to some 1,660 m and run through the Ciucaru Mare massif, from the valley of the Ponicova stream to the Danube. The land entrance is in the Ponicova Gorge, where the stream has cut a short canyon into the limestone and a natural bridge about 25 m long. The stream then flows through the cave, and because of the lake created by the Iron Gates I dam, part of the lower galleries is under water.

The first research dates from 1872. Its scientific fame came from its fauna, described by R. Jeannel and Emil Racoviță, and from 1962 the cave was studied systematically by specialists from the Institute of Speleology in Bucharest.

### What you can see

The Ponicova Gallery, about 400 m long and up to 26 m high, links the entrance of the stream with the mouth at Danube level and is lit naturally through its two large openings. A side branch climbs to the Concretion Gallery, with stalagmites on the floor, and higher up lie the Bat Gallery and the Great Hall, more than 100 m long and 32 m high, with fallen blocks, columns, gours and mounds of guano left by bat colonies. The cave has two levels: the lower one is crossed by water from time to time, the upper one is fossil. Of the three entrances, the one at water level can be seen from a boat, beneath the Ciucaru Mare cliff.

### Good to know

The main entrance, the easiest to reach, is in the Ponicova Gorge; a second entrance, higher up, is much harder to get to, and the third, at Danube level, can only be reached by boat. The cave can be visited all year, but May to October is the recommended period: in floods the Ponicova Gallery can be fully or partly flooded. The upper level is explored with a guide used to caving. Veterani Cave, on the same bank, is a separate attraction.

## Don't miss

- The entrance from the Ponicova Gorge, where the stream has cut a natural bridge about 25 m long in the limestone.
- The Ponicova Gallery, about 400 m long and up to 26 m high, lit naturally through two large openings.
- The Great Hall, more than 100 m long and 32 m high, with fallen blocks, gours and columns.
- The Bat Gallery, with the guano mounds of the bat colonies.
- The mouth at Danube level, seen from the water, beneath the Ciucaru Mare cliff.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** on the DN 57 (the Danube Gorge road), from Orșova through the Small Cauldrons and past Mraconia Monastery, ~26 km (~45 minutes); from Drobeta-Turnu Severin ~56 km (~1 h 15 min). The main entrance is in the Ponicova Gorge, close to the DN 57, where you go down beside the bridge over the stream and follow the valley to the cave. The marked eco-trail with a blue triangle, Ciucaru Mare–Ponicova (~1.6 km, ~2 hours), starts from the DN 57 at the exit from Dubova towards Moldova Nouă, about 2 km from the town hall.

**By boat:** the Danube trips from Dubova and Eșelnița pass beneath the Ciucaru Mare cliff, by the mouth at water level.

### Rules

The cave lies within Iron Gates Natural Park. The recommended equipment suits a cave with water: rubber boots, overalls, a hard hat and a torch. The upper level is explored with a guide used to caving. Do not disturb the bats, leave no litter and light no fires.

### Facilities

No facilities in the cave · weak mobile signal in the gorge

## Details

- **Total length:** 1,660 m
- **Developed and lit:** No

## Frequently asked questions about Ponicova Cave

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

A visit to Ponicova Cave takes about 2 – 2½ hours (the whole cave, 2–3 hours).

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

Ponicova Cave is located at Ponicova Gorge, by the DN 57, at the exit from Dubova towards Moldova Nouă; the second entrance, at the Danube, by boat only, Dubova, Mehedinți County. More under “Getting there”.

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

The best season for Ponicova Cave: May – October (the gallery floods in high water).

## Nearby attractions

- [Veterani Cave](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/veterani-cave) — Caves · Dubova, MH · 20 min · 1 km
  A broad grotto just above the Danube in the Great Cauldrons, with fortification walls from the Romans to the Austrians; reached only by boat, from Dubova or Eșelnița.
- [Danube Gorges (Cazanele Dunării)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/danube-gorges) — Gorges and canyons · Dubova, MH · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · Top 100 · 2 km
  The narrowest stretch of the Danube Gorge, between Dubova and Ogradena: the river squeezes between limestone walls, with Serbia on the far bank, seen by boat or from Ciucaru Mare.
- [Mraconia Monastery](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/mraconia-monastery) — Monasteries · Dubova, MH · 30 min · 7 km
  A monastery perched on a headland right above the Danube, in the Danube Gorges, on the site of the old monastery demolished in 1967 for the Iron Gates hydroelectric dam.
- [Danube Gorge Road](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/danube-gorge-road) — Scenic roads · Mehedinți County · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · 7 km
  The DN57 runs about 100 km along the Danube from Orșova to Moldova Nouă, through the Great and Small Cauldrons, past the rock face of Decebalus, with Serbia on the far bank.
- [Rock Sculpture of Decebalus](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/rock-sculpture-of-decebalus) — Monuments and historic sites · Eșelnița, MH · Free · ½ – 1 hours · Top 100 · 7 km
  The face of the Dacian king Decebalus, carved between 1994 and 2004 into a 55 m rock at the mouth of the Mraconia, on the Romanian bank of the Danube: the tallest rock sculpture in Europe.
- [Severin Medieval Fortress](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/severin-medieval-fortress) — Fortresses and fortifications · Drobeta-Turnu Severin, MH · 45 min · 41 km
  The ruins of the fortress on the Danube bank, centre of the Banate of Severin in the 13th century: consolidated walls and moat, the surviving north-east tower and a medieval festival each autumn.

## 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 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.

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Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ponicova-cave
Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/pestera-ponicova.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/hoehle-ponicova.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/grotta-ponicova.md · Français: https://peplaiuri.ro/fr/grotte-de-ponicova.md · Español: https://peplaiuri.ro/es/cueva-de-ponicova.md · Magyar: https://peplaiuri.ro/hu/ponicova-barlang.md
Last updated: 30 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania