Apuseni Nature Park is a nature reserve set up in 2004 in
\nthe northwestern part of the mountains of the same name. The area has a
\ndistinctive topography consisting of karst formations and underground holes
\nthat are of great importance to researchers. At the same time, the local
\nvillages, which are scattered at an altitude of over 1,400 meters, are all the
\nmore charming for the way in which they have preserved century-old traditions.
\nThe vegetation is typical of mountain areas, with both evergreen and deciduous
\ntrees, as well as mixed growths, bushes and grasses. Alin Mos, who in charge of
\nthe park, told us about the richness of life in this area: <\/p>\n
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There are here about 1,550 species of plants,
\nincluding 96 protected species. We have about 1,380 animal species, 147 of them
\nprotected, and 29 different natural habitats, 6 of which are listed as priority
\nhabitats of European importance, which means they are the focus of specific
\nprotection and conservation measures. The park has 1,500 caves, and different
\nspecies of bats have been discovered in many of them. 18 different species have
\nbeen identified to date. We have 45 species of mammals, of which the best known
\nare large carnivores. Some of the animals living here include the wolf, the
\nlynx, the bear, as well as the chamois and the otter. Apuseni Nature Park is
\npart of a European funding project called Life Connect Carpathians, which
\ntracks the populations of wolves and bears, as well as their prey. The projects
\naims at making a documented connection between the Western and the Southern
\nCarpathians, especially the Retezat area. Right now there are studies, research
\nand field projects being run in the field to identify the size of these
\npopulations in this particular area.<\/p>\n
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The main attraction of the park is the Cetatile
\nPonorului cave, which has the tallest cave entrance in the country, says Alin
\nMos:<\/p>\n
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Cetatile Ponorului is one of the largest and
\nmost impressive examples of karst topography in south-eastern Europe. This cave
\ncomplex is the result of three large sinkholes. They form a circle with a
\ndiameter of 1 km. The entrance to the cave is incredible, one of the most
\namazing in Europe. It is 70 meters tall, impressive by any measure. Cetatile Ponorului
\nis in fact one of the main attractions for visitors of the Apuseni Mountains.<\/p>\n
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Romania is among the European countries with
\nthe most caves. Most of these caves can be found in the Apuseni Mountains and
\ncontain waterfalls several meters tall, stalagmite halls and bat colonies. Here
\nis Alin Mos, the director of the nature preserve, once again: <\/p>\n
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The
\nBear Cave is one of the best-known caves in Romania. It has the best visitor
\ninfrastructure of all caves in Romania and, with 80,000, the largest number of
\nvisitors per year. Another cave of international importance located in this
\narea is the Scarisoara Ice Cave. Recent surveys have revealed that this is the
\nlargest ice cave in the world and the oldest in Europe. The visitor
\ninfrastructure here is very good. A new lighting system was put in place here 3
\nor 4 years ago. Using LED lights, the new system is better for the underground
\nhabitat and also provides visitors with a more intense experience of the
\nunderground ice formations. The number of visitors has grown considerably in
\nrecent years and the cave now has more than 35,000 visitors a year. Close to
\nthe Scarisoara Ice Cave, we find another cave open for visitors. This is called Poarta
\nlui Ionele and has brand new visitor infrastructure. This is not
\nnecessarily a spectacular cave, but it is easy to reach, because it is located
\nnear National Road No. 76 in the village of Garda. The fourth cave in the area
\nthat is open for visitors is the Vartop Ice Cave. The cave is well-known because
\nof the 40,000 year-old human remains discovered here which suggests that many
\ncaves in the Apuseni Nature Park used to be inhabited in the old times. Another
\ncave in the region is the Coliboaia Cave, which is home to one of the oldest
\nmural paintings ever discovered between the Alps and the Urals. The murals here
\nare over 35,000 years old and also demonstrate human presence. <\/p>\n
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The
\nApuseni Nature Park is visited by more than 500,000 people every year. Other
\nattractions in the area, apart from the caves, include the Aries Valley River,
\nwhich is a great destination for rural tourism and sports tourism, as well as
\nthe Vartop area, with its three marked ski tracks.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Apuseni Nature Park is a nature reserve set up in 2004 in the northwestern part of the mountains of the same name.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43423],"tags":[43988],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-148216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travellers-guide","tag-apuseni-nature-park"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n