Lazului Cave
Caves
About
The Lazului Cave is located in the Mehedinti Mountains, on the right geographical slope of the Motrului Sec Valley (Calugareni commune, Gorj County). Access to the cave's entrance is extremely easy, regardless of the season, it is done on the forest road from Motru Sec, starting from the village of the same name. After about 1.5 km from the village exit, paying attention to the terrain configuration (the forest covers the entire slope), the cave entrance can be observed across the river (easier in autumn and winter).
The cave entrance can also be reached (on foot) if we cross the Motrul Sec on a bridge in the village and then follow the right bank, on the well-defined terrace of the former forest train.
After entering the cave, we walked down a slight gallery that led us after about 50 meters into a rather complicated and branched sector, rightly called "Labyrinth" in special books. Here are dozens of corridors and galleries of different sizes, branching out in all directions, on different levels, communicating with each other and with the main gallery. We explored some of them (for about 45 minutes), occasionally having difficulty finding the right way.
For visitors less familiar with caves, this sector can be an exercise in acclimatization and exploration of underground spaces. It has the advantage of being dry most of the year and not far from the entrance. Of course, these explorations should be done under the supervision of someone familiar with the cave, especially as some galleries hide traps in the form of niches suspended above the main gallery (3 to 8 m), so extra caution is needed.
Returning to the main gallery, we continued to descend for several tens of meters, reaching the bottom of the first sump of the cave, dry at this moment. It seems that this point represents the most frequent obstacle in exploring the cave, the sump being closed most of the year.
In this area, we also found a few bats, suspended in the ceiling (down) of the gallery, already entering hibernation.
The gallery continues to be quite easy to walk. It alternates horizontal sections with some strongly descending, branches of other sumps. The floor is covered in extensive areas with sand and gravel, a clear sign of almost permanent water flow. We also encountered the underground stream in two places, having to walk through water for a few meters. The water depth did not exceed 50 cm at this time.
There are also a few branches of the main gallery, which can be easily explored until they narrow down.
Towards the end, the gallery branches off into two branches, almost in opposite directions (180 degree opening). To the right is a pressurized tunnel, about 50-60 cm high and about 1.5 m wide, which requires us to crawl for 20 meters on rocks. At the end of the corridor, we reach a closed room, where we find the underground stream coming out of a wall. The left branch goes down and quickly reaches (50-60m) a clogged siphon, which ends the exploration.
The most beautiful concretion of the cave is located in the first half and is immediately found after the gallery suddenly turns to the right, represented by a small basin, divided into dozens of mini-ponds, with homogeneous outflows to the floor. In conclusion, exploring the Lazul Cave is quite easy. It does require a minimum of physical condition, for overcoming the rock congestions and climbing some thresholds.
Exploration should clearly be done in dry periods when the water recedes from the lower galleries, otherwise the siphons will be flooded and crossing them will be impossible.
Towards the end, the gallery branches off into two branches, almost in opposite directions (180 degree opening). To the right is a pressurized tunnel, about 50-60 cm high and about 1.5 m wide, which requires us to crawl for 20 meters on rocks. At the end of the corridor, we reach a closed room, where we find the underground stream coming out of a wall. The left branch goes down and quickly reaches (50-60m) a clogged siphon, which ends the exploration.
The most beautiful concretion of the cave is located in the first half and is immediately found after the gallery suddenly turns to the right, represented by a small basin, divided into dozens of mini-ponds, with homogeneous outflows to the floor. In conclusion, exploring the Lazul Cave is quite easy. It does require a minimum of physical condition, for overcoming the rock congestions and climbing some thresholds.
Exploration should clearly be done in dry periods when the water recedes from the lower galleries, otherwise the siphons will be flooded and crossing them will be impossible.
