Travel Guide Padiş

At an altitude of 1,200 m, the Padiș plateau is an extraordinary site, a place for hiking amid fabulous karst formations, caves and underground rivers, wild chasms, waterfalls and cascades, etc. Among the most spectacular karst phenomena are the Someș Cald gorges, the Valea Galbenei and Valea Boga canyons and the impressive Citadels of Ponor (Cetățile Ponorului). The region is also a spelunker's delight, with some 30 caves, the finest of which are Peștera Ghețarul de la Focul Viu, ŞȘura Boghii, Padiș, Căput, Valea Galbenei Cave and Piatra Altarului. In this protected area, part of the Apuseni Mountains Natural Park, wild animals are at home. With a bit of luck, you'll spot deer, wild boar, foxes and roosters, and you're bound to come across squirrels, while the rivers that criss-cross the plateau are teeming with trout. In the evening, a specific phenomenon takes place: it's called Padiș fog, the result of cold air mixing with the warm air accumulated during the day in the dolines.