Castles of Ponor circuit

GPS Coordinates:
46.56596 N, 22.70218 E

Duration: 5 h Length: 12 km Height difference: +550 m / -550m Note: Difficult way, practicable only in the summer.

The route starts from the Padis hostel. In the first saddle, leaves us

The Galbena Tour

and in the Poiana Rotundă

Padiș - Lumea Pierdută

The way slopes to the Ponor glade, where leaves us

Padiș - Căput glade

The Ponor streamlet cuts through the glade, coming to surface on the right hand-side, and disappearing in the reservoir on the left. The blaze points first upwards then downwards, through a wood path with two more blazes.

Vărășoaia-Vârtop Glăvoi-Casa de Piatră

After 5 minutes we arrive to the bottom of a dolina where our way divides:

Galbena tour

Our way slopes on a stony way in the I Dolina where we may find the big Cetatile Ponorului gate of 74 m. Entering the cave under the main gate we come down till the course of the underground river that can't be explored contrary to the river's course due to a deep lake. The out-comming water dissapears after a short time through a waterfall in the gigant tunnel. Our route turns back to the way under the wall ascends on a stony way and arrives to the II Dolina with vertical walls of 100 m. On the bottom of the dolina there is a cave entrance that opens to an underground gallery forming a window of it.

From here we go up to the saddle that separates the I Dolina from the III Dolina. Those who come down at the wall's feet arrive to the entrance of a gallery that gives access to the underground river. Visiting it depends on the person's experience but foremost on the water-level. Toward the river-course we can see the watered gallery what is spiced with rocks, stones, halls biggest of them being the Camp's Hall in which there is a waterfall of 8 m. There is the terminus point. The gallery toward the river-course conjure us with light plays what appears and desappears thanks to the windows those cave entrances from the dolinas.We've got to the place visited before where the water dissapares through the waterfall to an underground galery.

After the meets for a while the route marked with yellow point arrives to the I balcony (from where it can be seen the III Dolina) and to the II balcony (from where it can be seen the III dolina as well). After a short time the double blaze leads us to the III balcony (from where it can be seen the II Dolina) and after a few minutes the double blaze leads us to the IV balcony (from where it can be seen the II Dolina).

After that we continue our way once the path comes down to the height of the Castle's Hill from where it follows on a drive. After 250 m leftwards comes down the yellow pointed blaze that comes from the spring of Galbena and joins us on ascends and slopes to the Padis tourist hostel.

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