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Thematic Route:<\/strong> Caves Route<\/p>\n Name of Touristic Attraction: <\/strong>Sfodea Cave<\/p>\n Location: <\/strong>in Mehedin\u021bi county. The access in the area is made from the paved road Tg-Jiu – Baia de Aram\u0103 – Ponoarele-Balta-Drobeta-Turnu Severin. The cave can be reached in several ways: either on the Cire\u015fu – Balta road, from which a path crossing Cusacu Hill descends over a field of valleys and goes to Sfodea, or if you descend the Balta river, to the village of Sfodea. North of Sfodea village is the entrance of the cave, not very large, dug into the Boldul Izvorului massif.<\/p>\n Description: <\/strong>Located in the Mehedin\u0163i Plateau, inside the left slope of the Topolnita Valley, Sfodea Cave is at a short distance from the village of Sfodea (Balta commune, Mehedin\u0163i county). It is located at an altitude of 435 m and 15 m above the valley and the access to the area is made by the road connecting Tg.Jiu, Baia de Aram\u0103, Ponoarele, Balta and Drobeta Trurnu Severin. The cave was formed by a small stream that disappears in a dive, in Balta Valley and re-emerges 80 m upstream of the opening of the cave. Developed on a narrow and tall East-West and North-East-South-Western diaclase system, Sfodea Cave is an active cave, mono-level, with subfossile areas and with a 700 m maped length. The entrance descends to a gallery with a height of 3 m, with the roof covered with gravel and sand and small water rivers. After 150 meters, there is a small room whose walls are covered with stalagmites. The room is enriched by the presence of two limestone pillars, 3 m tall. It can be seen spoonbills, erosion bells and marmites. The cave floor, though mostly covered with fine alluviums left from the floods, still has some stalagmites and calcitic crusts with microgours. There is a 3 m high cascade in the terminal portion. The cave was first explored in 1962 by V. Decu and M. Bleahu and opened in 1967. A series of explorations were made in 1980 by amateur speleologists who added new galleries.<\/p>\n Conditions:<\/strong>In order to visit the cave, it is necessary to use an ordinary equipment, consisting of a helmet, overalls, a lamp and a high boot. The visit of the cave takes about an hour and a half, and it is not recommended to visit it in the rainy periods or when there is a risk of storming.<\/p>\n Information and Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n The cave is administrated by Mehedinti Geoparc\u00a0 Plateau:<\/p>\n phone\/ fax: +4 0372 521 116,<\/p>\n