It really is hard to imagine what it will be like when you go underground to Turda Salt Mine. I’m sure you’ve seen pictures, you’ve been inspired to tackle the subject, but they are all bits and pieces. The place is so big that it is really hard to capture the hole thing in one picture: it is on different levels and huge heights, so no picture or movie can do it justice.
With a little imagination you can spend an entire day in this place, it is even recommended. The salty air is good for all kind of respiratory health problems. They have all kinds of facilities to keep you and your kids busy – a football/baseball field, mini gulf course, several ping pong tables, places to rent equipment, a roller coaster, a large amphitheater, a lake with boats, 10 floors of stairs that you are recommended to use as you go in and out. So this people really want to make you loose a sweat in here, but it is for your own good. Despite the healthy benefits, there is a benefit for the eyes. It is truly an art installation made from light in this re-purposed m
This mine had different purposes in time. It started as a salt exploitation during the roman period. As you know salt was important for Romans, it was a currency, people used to be paid in salt. During its lifetime it was a storage for food and cheese due to controlled temperature and antiseptic properties of salt, but i was also a deposit for bombs during WW2.
Three billion tons of dislocated salt, has left behind a space to be filled by human imagination. From a very pragmatic purpose of excavating salt to a very artsy perspective over the underground world.
I don’t any other place below the earth where human hand can do a better job than nature, except this marvelous place where humans have overtake nature by creating this underground constellation.
Once you go inside you will be reborn under the zodiac sign of salt and light – in a way the two essential elements of life.
As you go in the passage takes you from a man made structure, to a salty and curved ceiling.
Then you reach the first mining rooms, and the traditional area, where everything is kept as it was. Most fascinating here is how the salt took over everything in its way. Wood, metal, string, doesn’t matter, the salt gradually cover it in a cauliflower-like coating.
From here you have to go 13 floors down. Each floor has a balcony and you see gradually how the lights unfolds before your eyes. I recommend taking the stairs down and up. will give you plenty photo spots and time to take in the view and the salty air.
You have reached the playful level, as I told you in the beginning of the article. Enjoy the time here, spear at least 2 hours of your time and pick your sport of choice. And then sit and admire the natural elements: the gradient of the salt, the noodle-like stalactites coming from the ceiling and forming a chandelier
From here there is another layer down to Terezia Mine, where you reach the underground lake and the wood houses shaped like hedgehog. You go down and you cross a bridge reaching the island in the middle of the lake. From here you can rent a boat and paddle around. This gives you time to reflect about some facts: you are 70 meters below the surface, paddling in a boat, at the light of futuristic fixtures with structure that belong to a sci-fi movie. Take a deep breath and keep moving around, take pictures and enjoy this once in a lifetime experience.
Next would be to climb the 13 floors up. There is an elevator, but it is always crowded and it will deprive you of the full experience.
Preparing to go:
- I recommend to go weekdays and when there no public holiday. It is after all the most visited place in Romania. To really enjoy this it and to take it in (so to speak), you need some room.
- dress warmly because underground temperature is constant around 10 degrees. Especially if you want to spend more time. You have a lot of means to get warn, but don;t count only on that (paddle boat, 13 floors of stairs, ping pong, and many others).
- prices are:
- adult admission 30 RON (6 euro)
- child admission 15 RON (3 euro)
- parking 5 RON (1 euro)
- 20 minute boat 15 RON (3 euro)
- 30 minutes ping pong 10 RON (2 euro)
Turda Salt Mine is a unique experience from anything you have known or seen before. It is really hard to share the feeling of the deep, wide underground emptiness filled with floating lighting. It is an experience you have to make for yourself, with time and patience, one breath at a time.
If you find yourself not resisting the temptation to put Turda Salt Mine on your next trip, then consider the following:
- Apuseni Mountains
- Rosia Montana
- Detunata Goala
- Pisoaia Waterfall
- Transuroaia Road
- Brides’ Veil Waterfall
- Bear Cave
- Rusty Pit
- Ice Cave from Scarisoara
- Rimetea Village
- Turda Gorges
See our Toura itinerary in Apuseni Mountains including Turda Salt Mine and the above landmarks :