"Scărișoara Cave is one of the biggest ice caves in the Apuseni Mountains of Romania, in the western part of the Romanian Carpathians. It is considered a show cave and one of the natural wonders of Romania. It has also been described as a glacier cave.

"First mentioned in 1863 by the Austrian geographer Arnold Schmidl, who made some observations and the first map of the cave, it was later explored by the Romanian scientist and speleologist Emil Racoviță between 1921 and 1923, who mentioned it and its origin in his 1927 work Speologia (Speleology). The ice cave was formed 3,500 years ago, during the glaciations, when these mountains were covered by snow and ice. The exact date when the cave was first discovered by humans is unknown.

"The cave is located at an altitude of approximately 1,150 m (3,770 ft) above sea level. It is 120 m (390 ft) deep and 720 m (2,360 ft) long. The entrance shaft, which is 60 m (200 ft) in diameter and 50 m (160 ft) in depth, gives access through metal stairs to a large chamber, the Great Hall, which is approximately 108 m (354 ft) long and 78 m (256 ft) wide. The Great Hall includes an ice cliff nearly 18 m (59 ft) tall, which overlooks a pool called the Pool of Ice." (Wikipedia)

"The ice within the cave has an estimated volume of 75,000 cubic metres (98,000 cubic yards) and in some places can be as thick as 20 m (66 ft). The temperature is up to +1 °C in the summer and down to -7 °C in the winter.

"In the part for tourists the average temperature is around 0 °C. Bats live in the ice cave, as do small bugs (2–3 mm long) called Pholeuon prozerpinae glaciale. In the Big Reservation a Rupicapra skeleton was discovered." (Wikipedia)

"Declared a natural monument and a speleological reservation, Scărişoara Ice Cave features the second largest underground glacier in Europe. Visitors can take the stairs down the 164-feet shaft into the Big Hall, a large chamber where scientists have discovered ice more than 10,000 years old," the National Geographic says.

"From here, the cave opens up into four sections: The Church, Great Reservation, Coman Gallery, and Little Reservation. The Big Hall and The Church are the only sections opened to visitors—the others are for scientific research only. Venture inside The Church section to find hundreds of up to 16-feet-high icicles rising from the floor. As natural light penetrates the rock, the illuminated icicles resemble an ethereal vision of candles under a dark dome.

"Scărişoara is just one of the more than 1,200 caves found in Apuseni Nature Park, many of which can be visited without special equipment. Bear’s Cave exhibits some of the 140 prehistoric bear skeletons preserved in the ice. Nearby, at the Vârtop Cave scientists have found fossilized footprints from a Neanderthal made approximately 65,000 years ago (one of which was cut out and stolen)."

"The first scientific research was conducted by the reputable Emil Racovita, the founder of bio-speleology and the founder of the Institute of Speleology in Cluj (the firs speleology institute in the world). Between 1921 and 1923 Emil Racovita visited Scarisoara Ice Cave five times. His findings and hypotheses were published in a scientific paper in 1927," the travelguideromania.com says.

"By raising awareness to the authorities that Scarisoara Ice Cave has a peculiar scientific interest, he managed to protect it by law in 1933. This cavity is the first caving tourist objective in Romania – a natural monument. The next phases in studying the cave took place in 1963-1968 and 1982-1992.

"Scarisoara Ice Cave opens up in a shaft entrance (vertical entrance of a cave) with a maximum diameter of 60 m and 48-metre depth. From a tourist standpoint, you can descend the area on a metal and wooden staircase."

"The special importance that the Scărișoara Glacier Cave has from a scientific point of view was first outlined by the founder of the Institute of Speleology in Cluj, the renowned biospeleologist Emil Racoviță. In a time when the cave was only partially known, the scientist understood that it offer many various, and very interesting research subjects. He even planned to set up an underground laboratory that would facilitate the development of complex studies," the Scarisoara Glacier Cave says.

"The first research of this kind was conducted by the renowned Romanian biologist Emil Racoviță, founder of biospeleology and of the Institute of Speleology in Cluj. During the three years between 1921 and 1923, he visited the cave five times.

"His findings and the hypothesis he formulated were presented in a monograph published in 1927. It was his only important paper in the field of physical speleology. Emil Racoviță's merits are indisputable."

"Researcher Aurel Perșoiu, from the Emil Racoviță Institute of Speleology in Cluj-Napoca, spoke to Euronews Romania about the current state of the Scărișoara glacier and what can be expected in the years ahead," the Romania Insider says.

"It has been melting at an accelerated rate in recent years. We have preliminary data suggesting that it could be around 13,000 years old, and it shows that at least in the last 10,000 years there may well not have been a period of melting as dramatic as the one happening nowadays."

"The researcher drew attention to how quickly the phenomenon is happening, saying that "in the last three or four years, we've seen melting of the ice that is unprecedented, in the entire time that measurements have been taken, since 1921. More ice has melted in these few years than in the last 40 years put together, and the data shows that this process will only increase in the coming years."

"The most famous cave in Apuseni Nature Park, Ice (or Glacier) Cave houses one of the largest underground glaciers in Europe – one of just 10 – and is filled with 7500 cu metres of ice dating back to the Ice Age," the Lonely Planet says.

"Tours of 10 to 50 people depart between six and seven times a day. The tour lasts 20 minutes and involves a steep descent to the opening, a peek inside and then back up again.

"The cave can be reached on foot from Gârda de Sus (9km, two hours). You can drive to the cave via a paved but narrow 8km-long road."

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