# Puturoasă Cave (Smelly Cave of Torja)

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Transylvania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/transilvania) › [Covasna County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/covasna) › [Turia](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/turia)

> The former gallery of a sulphur mine on Mount Puturosu, 14 m long, with post-volcanic gas rising from it: the walls are coated in yellow sulphur and the vault has been lined with stone since 1892.

**At a glance:** Caves in Turia, Covasna County. The visit takes 1 – 1½ hours. Information verified on 30 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** An open-air gallery reached by a trail; it has no gate or ticket office and no permanent supervision. Go in daylight, and after rain the forest trail can be damp.
- **Visit duration:** 1 – 1½ hours — ~30 min on the trail one way
- **With kids:** No — gas ~1 m off the ground
- **Address:** South-western slope of Mount Puturosu, above the resort of Băile Bálványos (DN11C); ~30 minutes' walk on a trail from the resort, Turia, Covasna County
- **Coordinates:** 46.11977, 25.9485
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q855457
- **Categories:** [Caves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/caves)

## About Puturoasă Cave (Smelly Cave of Torja)

Puturoasă Cave (in Hungarian Torjai Büdös-barlang) lies at about 1,050 m, on the south-western slope of Mount Puturosu, above the resort of Băile Bálványos, in the commune of Turia. It is not a karst cave but the gallery of an abandoned sulphur mine, from which post-volcanic gas now rises, mainly carbon dioxide with traces of hydrogen sulphide. The latter gives the rotten-egg smell that named both the mountain and the cave.

The right to mine sulphur here once belonged to the village of Turia, then to the Apor family. In 1892 Apor Gábor lined the 14 m of the gallery with dressed stone and fitted a door, opened only at certain hours, under supervision. Towards the end of the 19th century the gas here fed the first carbon dioxide liquefaction plant in the Carpathian area, burnt down in 1916 during the fighting. After the First World War the cave passed, together with the resort, to a tuberculosis sanatorium, and today it can be visited freely.

### What you can see

The entrance is a walled stone portal cut into the rocky hillside. Inside, along the roughly 6 m between the entrance and the grille that closes off the end of the gallery, stand two wooden benches, and the dressed-stone vault is followed by walls coated in yellow sulphur. The sulphur is deposited from the hydrogen sulphide in the gas, up to the level the gas reaches: that yellow line shows where the unbreathable "air" begins. At the entrance the gas lies at about 1 m, and deeper in it rises almost to the ceiling.

Beside the entrance are information boards and the blue-dot trail marker, along which the route continues to the Alum Grotto and the Tinovul Bufnitor bog.

### Good to know

The air in the cave is not breathable below the level of the gas: do not go past the grille, do not bend down below the sulphur line, and do not let children and animals stand in front of the gallery, where the gas lies at their height. The gas, heavier than air, collects low, and the sources on the site warn that breathing it can be fatal.

## Don't miss

- The dressed-stone portal from 1892, cut into the rocky slope of Mount Puturosu.
- The walls coated in yellow sulphur, with the line marking the level of the gas.
- The two wooden benches in the 14 m gallery, in front of the grille that closes off the end.
- The information boards at the entrance, explaining where the post-volcanic gas comes out.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** the resort of Băile Bálványos is on the DN11C, through the Turia pass, between Târgu Secuiesc and Bixad: ~26 km and ~30 minutes from Târgu Secuiesc, ~41 km and ~45 minutes from Sfântu Gheorghe, ~50 km and ~55 minutes from Miercurea Ciuc, ~18 km and ~20 minutes from Băile Tușnad, ~75 km and ~1h15 from Brașov (approximate distances, to the point level with the cave). Leave the car in the resort.

**On foot:** the cave lies above the resort; from the area of the Grand Hotel Balvanyos you climb through the forest on the trail marked with a blue dot, about half an hour. The same marker continues to the Alum Grotto and the Tinovul Bufnitor bog.

### Where to park

The resort of Băile Bálványos has car parks around the hotels, where the climb to the cave begins.

### Rules

Do not go past the grille at the end of the gallery and do not bend down below the level of the gas, marked by the yellow line of sulphur. Do not let small children or animals go in alone, because the gas lies low. Follow the boards at the entrance; the area is part of the Ciomad–Bálványos Natura 2000 site, so stay on the trail and take your rubbish with you.

### Facilities

two benches in the gallery · information boards at the entrance · no toilets, shop or lighting at the cave · accommodation, restaurants and toilets in the resort of Băile Bálványos, at the foot of the mountain · forest trail, not accessible with a pushchair

## Details

- **Total length:** 14 m
- **Altitude:** 1,052 m
- **Developed and lit:** No
- **Guided visits only:** No

## Frequently asked questions about Puturoasă Cave (Smelly Cave of Torja)

**How long does a visit to Puturoasă Cave (Smelly Cave of Torja) take?**

A visit to Puturoasă Cave (Smelly Cave of Torja) takes about 1 – 1½ hours (~30 min on the trail one way).

**Can you visit Puturoasă Cave (Smelly Cave of Torja) with kids?**

No, Puturoasă Cave (Smelly Cave of Torja) is not recommended for visits with children (gas ~1 m off the ground).

**How do I get to Puturoasă Cave (Smelly Cave of Torja)?**

Puturoasă Cave (Smelly Cave of Torja) is located at South-western slope of Mount Puturosu, above the resort of Băile Bálványos (DN11C); ~30 minutes' walk on a trail from the resort, Turia, Covasna County. More under “Getting there”.

## Nearby attractions

- [Băile Bálványos](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/baile-balvanyos) — Resorts and thermal baths · Turia, CV · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · 2 km
  A spa and mountain-air resort in Covasna county, at 840–950 m in the forests of the Bodoc Mountains: naturally sparkling mineral springs, volcanic gas mofettes, sulphur caves and trails up to Bálványos Castle.
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## 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.

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