With a very rich history, the cave in ancient times sheltered many children and women during the wars, when the men went to fight, hence its name. It is the first electrified cave in Romania. The Muierilor Cave is a cavity with galleries on three clear levels, the 4th level not yet exploited. The total length of the cave is 3566 m.
The cave was carved into the Mesozoic limestones on the southern edge of the Parâng Massif by the Galbenul River. With a very rich history, the cave in ancient times sheltered many children and women during wars, when men went to fight, hence its name. The Muierilor Cave has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods, as evidenced by the flint tools and pottery discovered by archaeologists. There is also evidence of human presence throughout history. Scientific information on the cave first appeared in 1894. The Muierilor Cave is a cavity with galleries on three clear levels, the 4th level not yet exploited. The total length of the cave is 3566 meters.
The most important is the 600 m long Electrified Gallery, which runs through the cave from one end to the other. After entering, one enters a medium-sized gallery with massive, smoky formations. The first stalagmites that catch our attention appear: the Small Basins, the Organ, the Small Dome. The main gallery, called the Electrified Gallery, becomes more and more spectacular if you go further south, because you can see many concretions of the ceiling, as well as pools that are sometimes filled with water, called the Small Pools, and the Large Pools.
270 metres away is the entrance to the Turkish Hall, one of the most beautiful locations on the upper floor. You can see huge stalagmites, domes, concretions on the walls and ceiling, some shapes even have names such as Santa Claus, the Turk, the Turk’s Wife, etc. After passing through a narrow corridor and climbing a threshold on a metal staircase, you enter the so-called Hall of Wonders, a name due to the numerous microbaths, stalagmites and candle-shaped stalactites that adorn this room. Walking back to the main gallery, you can walk through the Small Gate, a section where the walls and ceiling are very close together, forming a small passage through which you can reach the Guano Hall. The eastern wall has a series of galleries – a real haven for cave wildlife, as that area is less accessible to tourists and not yet electrified. From the Guano Hall it is only 40m to the cave exit. Passing through the south gate, you can see the slope overlooking a terraced meadow.
Gh. Murgoci, a scientist, described the cave in another work from 1898: “The Baia Cave in the key of Galbenului to the N of Baia-de-fer is one of the most interesting caves; it has many branches, many shafts and chimneys, and is very long. A heavy layer of guano, the excrement of the innumerable bats that inhabit it, covers the ground. An Ursus spelaeus’ tooth was also found in it.
The Bear Gallery takes its name from the numerous skeletal remains of fossils of Quaternary mammals, mostly cave bears. The great variety and numerous concretions in calcium make this gallery memorable. The Hall of Pearls has a low ceiling, in places under 1 metre, and features a wonderful stone curtain at the entrance, known as the Veil of the Bride. The floor is shaped like a mosaic, thanks to the many crystals and cave pearls. If you chose not to go down the metal staircase leading to the southern section and went left and crossed a 2.5m threshold, you’d end up In the so-called Mousterian Hall is where archaeologists have found evidence that the cave was inhabited by humans in the mid Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic. The lower floor, divided into two sections by alluvium, is of real scientific interest. For this reason, Muierilor Cave was declared a Speleological Reserve in 1955 and a Natural Reserve Monument.
