Turda salt mine & gorge & Rimetea village
€ 67
per personWander inside a mine to discover an ancient Transylvanian chronicle carved in salt. Chill out in a charming little mountain village. Walk along a wild gorge and quest a fortified cave.
Travel Details
Destination
Transylvania
Start / End
Cluj-Napoca
Duration
1 day
Service
guided
Seasonality
March - November
Tour type
discover
Departure time
8:30 am
Estimated return time
6:30 pm
Dress code
for Turda salt mine: appropriate warm clothing recommended (the constant temperature inside the salt mine is 10-12° C). For Turda Gorge: non-slippery walking shoes recommended.
Visits
Turda salt mine; Rimetea village; Turda Gorge
Distance
150 km
Car transfer duration
3 h (2 ways)
Notes
for guaranteed departure tours: due to long waiting lines for the elevators inside the salt mine, the guide may ask you to take the stairs (500 steps / 1 way)
One of the key words used when speaking about the symbols of Transylvania is ‘fortification’. Towns were being fortified, castles and churches too, sometimes even private households and villages. But who would believe that even some caves got to be? And why so many fortifications?
First, because of the Mongol and Ottoman peril existing in Transylvania all along the Middle Ages.
Second, but just as important as the first, accessible resources. If material resources were available due to the landforms and the geographical positioning of the region, in between the mountains, the financial resources were often provided by the exploitation of the natural resources. And in Transylvania those were not few. Beside wood (as the name of Transylvania derives from Latin, meaning ‘the land behind the forest’), salt, gold and iron were three other resources highly valued and exploited in ancient and medieval times.
This guided day tour from Cluj will help you discover a leisure-inspiring landscape and show how different individuals or communities engaged with it.
From Our Gallery
Cluj - Turda - Rimetea - Cluj
Departure from Cluj at 8:30 am. Your day will begin with a fabulous voyage into the wombs of the ancient salt mine of Turda*. Used as an antiaircraft shelter during WWII, as a cheese ripening facility during the communist period and finally upgraded to Transylvania’s unique underground amusement park, Turda Salt Mine still preserves thousands of chisel and hammer marks, left as ‘salt signatures’ by the miners who once worked here. *It is not recommended to visit the salt mine if you have heart, lungs, digestive and other health conditions. You can check them all here.
Entering the Apuseni Mountains, you will discover Rimetea, a Hungarian village wonderfully preserved in harmony with nature. For centuries, Rimetea was famous throughout Transylvania for its iron mines as well as for the skills of its blacksmiths.
Lunch on the way in a restaurant.
Heading back to Cluj, stop for a 2h walk in Cheile Turzii nature reserve – one of Romania’s most important wild places for rock climbing. Cross the canyon (two ways) and admire the 200m high crags. See a small fortified cave used by brigands as a refuge over two centuries ago.
Back to Cluj in late afternoon.
Our Gallery
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Not included:
Check here what discounts apply to this tour.
All prices are listed per person and calculated on an 8 participants basis.
For tours for more than 8 participants, please request a quote.