Şugău Cave

Under the southwestern foothills of the 1600 metres high Mount Siposkő, in the Giurgeu Mountains,  one can easily find the well-known Șugău/Súgó cave, a speleological wonder, a gem dug in limestone.
The Șugău cave is the longest cave in the East-Carpathians' core mountain group.

The cave has four levels, three overlapped entrances and a length of more than one kilometer. The name, which in Hungarian means "whisper", comes from the sounds made by the underground spring as it flows through the stones.

The cave has stalactites, stalagmites, columns and strange shapes carved by water and wind in the soft limestone. The cave has many chambers, named in various ways, according to their shape, size or location.

The first attempts of the speleologists to explore and map it date back to 1965, when they also began the work to open the cave to the public for guided visits. Before this time, the entrance to the cavern was extremely cumbersome, this being one of the main reasons it took the speleologists so long to explore it.

Due to the climatic and biological conditions inside, the carbon dioxide concentration in the air is far above normal, so the public access area only follows 150 meters of the cave, for maximum 50 minutes. Moreover, the entry is possible only with guides, who will make sure the visitors wear a protective helmet with flashlight.

The main attraction of the cave, famous for its legend, is the Lake of Lovers, in one of the chambers. It is said that those who come here and drink from the lake’s water will remain in love forever.

Photo: András Zsolt