Women's Cave

The Women's Cave is the first electrified cave in Romania, located in the Baia de Fier hamlet in Gorj County. It is also confirmed as one of the most beautiful caves in Romania. The term stems from the fact that women and children used to hide inside during wars and other times of necessity. However, research has found human and animal remains dating back to the Paleolithic Age, indicating that the cave has been utilized as a shelter for inhabitants for thousands of years. Women's Cave is well known for its bat colonies as well as its stunning stalactite and stalagmite structures. Locals claim that miracles occur within the cave, and that certain areas of the cave have particular healing abilities.

The first recorded record of the Woman Cave appears to date from 1870, when it was mentioned in an archaeological questionnaire by the archaeologist Al. Odobescu. Since then, more than a century of investigation has yielded a wealth of scientific and documentary evidence attesting to key archaeological, paleontological, geomorphologic, biospelaeological, and mineralogical discoveries. Over 95 percent of the cave galleries' total length of 3,566 meters is made up of them. The entire system of galleries runs north-south along the rift that allowed the Galbenul River to carve them out of the rocks.

The cave has three entrances: one on the north, one on the east, and one on the south. The waters of the former underground stream that originally flowed through the northern slope have resurfaced at the last two exits. The underground path of the Galbenul stream has already been abandoned, and the karstification process is currently sustained solely by percolation fluids delivered by rainfall or snow melt.

Address: Baia de Fier, Gorj, Romania