Cave buffs should head straight to this fantastic ice cave, but be forewarned that it’s only reachable on foot. The route is signposted from the centre of Gârda de Sus, and it’s about a two-hour hike (9km) from there. Alternatively, you can drive along a rough gravel road about half the distance and walk the rest of the way. It’s impossible to access the cave from Scărişoara village.
The ice cave was first documented in 1863 by Austrian geographer Arnold Schmidt. This enabled the Romanian scientist and speleologist Emil Racoviţa (1868-1947) to pursue further explorations from 1921 to 1923. Believed to be one of only 10 of this kind in Europe, the cave is filled with 7500 cu metres of ice. The ice, at an altitude of 1150m, dates back to the Ice Age, when the Apuseni Mountains were covered in glaciers.
The maximum temperature inside the cave in summer is 1°C; in winter it drops to -7°C. Safety precautions inside the cave are not up to international safety standards, and lighting is nonexistent. It’s not possible to enter the cave without a guide.
