# Veterani 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) > 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. **At a glance:** Caves in Dubova, Mehedinți County. The visit takes 20 min. Information verified on 30 October 2026. ## Key facts - **Opening hours:** Boat trips from Dubova and Eșelnița run mainly from May to October; departure times and the stop at the cave are arranged with the boat operator. - **Visit duration:** 20 min — a stop during the boat trip - **Parking:** Yes, free — at Dubova, by the pontoons - **Best season:** May – October — boat trips in summer - **Address:** On the Danube bank, in the Great Cauldrons, beneath Ciucaru Mare; reached only by boat from Dubova (DN 57), Dubova, Mehedinți County - **Coordinates:** 44.59926, 22.26313 - **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133522096 - **Categories:** [Caves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/caves) ## About Veterani Cave In the wall of Ciucaru Mare, close to the water, a wide limestone vault opens that the Danube now washes from below: Veterani Cave, also called the Veterani Grotto. At the entrance you can still see the walls that once closed it off. The place served as shelter and fortification across several eras: archaeologists discuss the ruins of a small Late Roman fort of the *quadriburgium* type, with a small harbour in front, while local legends speak of offerings made here in Dacian times. The name comes from the Austrian general Friedrich Veterani, who re-fortified the grotto in 1692, during the war against the Turks, and withdrew here with a few hundred soldiers to halt the Ottoman advance along the Danube. Shortly before, the Italian cartographer Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli had described it under the name "Piscabara". The rise in the water level after the Iron Gates I dam was built has brought the entrance to only a few metres above the Danube. ### What you can see From the boat you first see the wide mouth of the cave, with smooth, vaulted rock walls above the water; at the entrance you can make out the stone walls of the fortification. Inside it is dark, and light falls through an opening in the vault. The cave has no stalactites or developed sections: its interest is historical and scenic, in one of the narrowest places of the Great Cauldrons. ### Good to know It can be reached only by water, by boat from Dubova or Eșelnița; Ponicova Cave lies in the same part of Ciucaru Mare, but it is a separate attraction. When boarding you should confirm whether the stop at the cave is included in the tour. ## Don't miss - The wide, vaulted mouth of the cave, a few metres above the Danube, seen from the water. - The remains of the stone fortification walls at the entrance, used from the Romans to the Austrians. - The opening in the vault through which light enters the dark chamber. - The view of the Ciucaru Mare cliff and the Serbian bank, in the Great Cauldrons. ## Good to know before you go ### Getting there **By car:** the cave cannot be reached overland, only from the Danube. The pontoons where the boats leave are in Dubova, on the DN 57 (the Danube Gorge road), ~26 km from Orșova (~45 minutes), and in Eșelnița. From Orșova the road passes Mraconia Monastery and the face of Decebalus, through the Small Cauldrons. **By boat:** trips from Dubova and Eșelnița pass through the Great Cauldrons, by the mouth of Ponicova Cave, and may include a stop at the Veterani Grotto. Check at the pontoon whether the stop is included in the tour. ### Where to park Park along the DN 57 and in the widened spots in Dubova, by the pontoons. On summer weekends the spaces fill up quickly. ### Rules The site is part of Iron Gates Natural Park: leave no litter, light no fires and do not disturb the bats. On the boat you wear the life jacket the operator gives you. It is dark inside: bring a torch and shoes with good grip, as the rock by the water can be damp. ### Facilities No facilities in the cave · boarding pontoons in Dubova and Eșelnița · weak mobile signal in the gorge ## Details - **Developed and lit:** No ## Frequently asked questions about Veterani Cave **How long does a visit to Veterani Cave take?** A visit to Veterani Cave takes about 20 min (a stop during the boat trip). **Where can I park at Veterani Cave?** There is free parking at Veterani Cave (at Dubova, by the pontoons). More under “Where to park”. **How do I get to Veterani Cave?** Veterani Cave is located at On the Danube bank, in the Great Cauldrons, beneath Ciucaru Mare; reached only by boat from Dubova (DN 57), Dubova, Mehedinți County. More under “Getting there”. **When is the best time to visit Veterani Cave?** The best season for Veterani Cave: May – October (boat trips in summer). ## Nearby attractions - [Ponicova Cave](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ponicova-cave) — Caves · Dubova, MH · 2 – 2½ hours · 1 km 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. - [Danube Gorges (Cazanele Dunării)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/danube-gorges) — Gorges and canyons · Dubova, MH · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · Top 100 · 1 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 · 6 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 · 6 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. - [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. --- Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/veterani-cave Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/pestera-veterani.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/hoehle-veterani.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/grotta-veterani.md · Français: https://peplaiuri.ro/fr/grotte-veterani.md · Español: https://peplaiuri.ro/es/cueva-veterani.md · Magyar: https://peplaiuri.ro/hu/veterani-barlang.md Last updated: 30 October 2026 Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania