Bolii Cave

Bolii Cave lies within the municipality of Petroșani, near the village of Peștera, about 6 km north of the town, on the road linking the Jiu Valley with the Hațeg Country (DN66). It is a natural tunnel through Jurassic limestone: the Jupâneasa stream enters the mountain at one end and leaves it under the name Galbina. The entrance portal is about 20 m wide at the base and 10 m high, and the main gallery, over 450 m long, drops only a few metres along its whole length. Its name probably comes from the Bolia family, who owned land and forests in the area from the fifteenth century. In the 1960s it was fitted with bridges over the stream, later destroyed by floods; after a period of neglect, cavers from the Petro Aqua association in Petroșani refitted it with footbridges and electric lighting, and the cave became a tourist attraction again. In places the gallery widens into hall-sized chambers, with flowstone formations on the ceiling and in the higher sections. The largest chamber, known for its acoustics, is called the "Concert and Dance Hall": concerts were held here as early as the interwar period, and the tradition was revived on 1 May 2007. The cave is a few hundred metres from the Bănița Gorge and the trail to the Bănița Dacian fortress. Bolii Cave is a protected speleological natural area, code RONPA0540, listed in Law 5/2000 as „Dealul și Peștera Bolii” (Bolii Hill and Cave), covering 10 ha, IUCN category IV. It is managed and maintained by the Petro Aqua association.