Sugau cave (or the Șugo barlang in the hungarian dialect) is the most important cavity from The Giurgeu Montains. In the székely toponymy the name “Sugo” mean whispering.
This attribute returned to the cave due the sound of the air stream which could be heard in the gallery’s entrance and also due the sound water that springs at the lower level of the cave.
Sugau Cave is partially arranged as show cave. It isn’t endowed with a lighting system. You will get light sources from the speleologists guides. Thus that the visit to cave is more interesting.
Sugau Cave has a length about 1065m from which you visit about 300m round-trip.
The touristic importance of this cave is greater when you find out about the absence of similar objectives in the Giurgeu Hollow and in Szecklerland.
Location: The Șugău Cave is found in the Giurgeu Mountains, The Șipoș Massive-The Sharp Stone, more exactly on the south-east slope, in a coniferous forest. The entrance into the main gallery is found at altitude of 1060m.
This mountain unit is part of the Central Massif of the Eastern Carpathians.
Access: from Gheorgheni City you go by car towards > the Strâmbă Valley Village > the Voșlobeni Village > and then another 6 km all by car. From Voșlobeni the road is asphalted for about 4km, and then another 2km forest road. During summer the road is accessible for any car.
We recommend to use the Waze application for navigation. They have the cave on their database.
You go by car towards the valley from where you climb up the trail to the cave. You walk about 400m, with a level of difference of 100m.
The first indication is the wooden kiosk where you found the entrance panel in the Șugău Cave Speological Reservation.
We climb for 10 minutes the trail and we arrive at the speleological cottage, where we find the guide. From the cottage to the main entrance of the cave you need to climb for about 10 minutes.
The fee for visiting the Sugau Cave (Șugo cave) is 10 lei/adult and 8 lei/child.
The visiting hours of the cave:
- In the period 1st June – 15th September, daily, from 10 am to 5 pm.
- In the period 15th September- 31th May, Saturday and Sunday between 10 am – 4 pm.
The visit duration: about 1 hour for the show cave or 2-3 hours for the entire cave ( speleological circuit).
Advices for visiting the Sugau cave:
- you need to come equipped with sport clothing and footwear;
- inside the cave the footwear can get muddy, so come with proper shoes;
- in the cave are 7-10 degrees, so you have warm clothing with you.
The cave can be visited only on the arranged area. On demand, shifts are made in the non-touristic area of the cave. For visiting these areas you need special cave equipment. In the case you want to visit the entire cave you must make reservation in advance because is not always possible due the conservation period of these areas.
The description of the Sugau cave: the cave was known from the local people since 1930. It was investigated by the treasure hunters. There is a legend such that the cave is dripping gold every seven years.
After this period, the cave was investigated by the scientists and speleologists from biseologic point of view and the map of the underground hall was made.
The Șugo cave is developed on 4 levels of erosion. At the entry a metal gate is mounted. The first room is called „the locker”, after this the visit is continued to the „Counsel Hall”.
When the cave was discovered, the entry area had a much smaller gallery. To make the access easier for the tourists, in 1970 the gallery was enlarged.
If before these works, they went crawling, today you can go on toe through this space. The tourist’s route is about 300m round-trip.
The gallery is decorated with railings and paving stones.
You can also see in the cave stalagmites, stalactites, columns but also specific creatures to this environment: bats. These are protected by law so you should not disturb them during your visit. Try to be quite around them and don’t touch them.
The climax of the touristic trail is the Big Room. From the furnished ballcony you can see an inclined plane on the base of which there are collapsed stone blocks. In the end of tourism gallery we arrive at the Music Room where chamber music concerts are performed.
The galleries which are not included in the tourist complex of the cave can be visited only with caving equipment. One of the extraordinary places of this cave, shelters beautiful formations of aragonite, of the type mace. They are so delicate, we must be careful to not destroy them during the visit. This type of formation is very rare and is found in a few caves.
The galleries that are visited in the speleological circuit are called: southern ramifications (or Overflow Arm). For visiting them, besides equipment, you need a little courage. The entrance in these galleries consists of a pretty severe strait.
Sorting people is natural, depending on their physical condition and also based on the fear of tight spaces.
It follows a crawling for about 40m where you have to strain among cave formations. The height of the gallery is about 30 cm.
After this crawling you will be rewarded, with some beautiful large halls, with many formations.
The „Column’s Hall” through which we pass, has a column with height of 4 m and 0,8 diameter. This column bears testimony of tectonic movements being sectioned in the middle. Is the biggest formation from the entire cave.
We get to the last room of these galleries passing through another strait but this time less severe. The return is made on the same route.
The other levels of erosion of the cave are on the lower level, in relation to the main gallery. They are difficult to visit because of their small dimensions. From the area of these galleries, a brook comes to light which can be seen near the cave lodge. It springs from a level difference of 67m, compared to the main entrance of the cave.
After visiting the Șugo cave, if you want you can make a trip to the Șipos Peak (blue tape marking). Other objectives you can vist in the area are the Red Lake, the Bicaz Canyon or the ski slope from Toplița on winter.
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