We Explored the Mysterious World of Salina Turda in Romania

Hello friends. Just a short distance from Cluj-Napoca, we found one of Romania's most extraordinary destinations: the Salina Turda salt mine. However, to behold this beauty, we first need to purchase a ticket and enter. Prior to our visit, we made an online reservation. We could enter Turda through one of two entrances: the old and the new. The old entrance is less comfortable, with longer tunnels, and didn't seem to hold much appeal. We opted for the new, modern entrance, which is designed in a futuristic style. The new entrance has been relocated outside the city, allowing space for a large parking lot and even a couple of healing salt lakes, making it a fully-equipped facility. Indeed, this place will seem beneficial to you when you visit during the warmer months.

Before descending underground, let me share some useful tips to consider while you're still above ground. Firstly, parking is free but only for two hours, which seems to hint at how long the underground adventure might last. Honestly, you can definitely complete the tour within two hours, but if you, like me, enjoy exploring every nook and cranny, allocating three hours for this excursion would be better. And remember, the last tourists are admitted to Turda at 4:00 PM, so arriving early is essential. Secondly, Turda is a highly developed place, with its own website and even a mobile application containing a free audio guide and plenty of useful information, so you won't need a traditional guide. Everything you need can be found online. You can also purchase tickets online, so you won't have to wait in line, but I recommend going to the ticket office: you can pay with a bank card in Turda. However, this rule only applies at the upper section. If you want to purchase tickets for any of the activities in the lower section, only cash is accepted. Therefore, it's better to plan ahead and buy tickets at the entrance. Climbing back up hundreds of meters won't be pleasant. I also recommend bringing a jacket for every season because it's only 12 degrees down below. And finally, pay attention to the map given to you at the entrance.

We entered through the modern entrance, which was designed for miners, not tourists, so you could easily get lost and miss out on an interesting room along the way. Salina Turda doesn't just have one, but four mines, and these mines are interconnected by an underground tunnel, which we walked through. However, only two of the four mines are open to visitors. The second two mines, Anton and Yosif mines, are closed, but you can partially enter the latter. Its upper part is equipped with a small balcony, known as the Echo Chamber. You can shout from the balcony, and the echo will reverberate numerous times throughout the empty mine. In the coming years, the Yosif mine is also planned to be equipped. Meanwhile, you can take a breath here and just shout to your heart's content.

There are several smaller branches of the main mines in Turda. For instance, there's the Gisela mine. Here, there's something like a café and a salt therapy center where you can order salt treatments. Inhaling the salty air is extremely beneficial because the density of the salt purifies the air, killing almost all microorganisms and allergens. I mustered up the courage to check. Everything in the mine is really made of salt or just decorative :) Overall, everything is real. The density of salt is incredible! You can confidently explore here for a whole day like a local and become healthier with the healing salty air!

We entered the second interesting chamber. Here, there's a unique mechanism used in salt extraction. Actually, it's just a clever crane, turned by horses, enabling the transportation of salt from under the mine to the lifting gallery. Behind the glass, there are exhibitions showing how stone cutting was done in the mine.

On an industrial scale, the Turda mine began its development in the 11th century. And the placement of the number 1271 on the Salina Turda coat of arms was not coincidental. That's the year when local salt mines were first mentioned in official documents. Salina Turda has been operating for many centuries. Mining technologies changed, and the mines deepened and deepened... thus, mining became less efficient over time, but the modernization carried out in 1853 gave Turda a second life. The Transport Gallery was excavated. This is the horizontal tunnel we entered; back in those days, rails were laid, and salt was transported to the surface by horse-drawn carts. However, in 1932, the salt mines finally closed and remained empty for half a century. During this time, over 3 billion tons of salt were extracted from these mines. With the support of the European Union, the salt mine was rebuilt. And it has been transformed into that marvelous object of the future we visited. However, to see all the beauty of the modern reconstruction, we need to pass from the gallery to the first shaft. To do this, we first need to descend to a lower level through the old wooden steps, called the "rich man's staircase." This staircase was specially built when the Austrian Emperor came to inspect his properties. Miners were strictly forbidden to use the staircase; they had to descend by the classical ways. This staircase has been standing here for centuries, welcoming millions of tourists, and still looks quite good. The secret lies in a special type of resin in the wood that neutralizes the destructive effects of salt. The wooden beams have absorbed so much of the white gold of the salt mine that it looks like the entire structure has been carved from a single salt crystal.

As we descended the stairs, we reached the upper level of the Rudolph mine. The skewed dome of Rudolph's mine measures 50 x 80 meters and is 42 meters deep, making it a true work of art. The mine, being the youngest, became the last salt mining area in Salina Turda. Because of the vastness of the empty space here, the main attractions were placed here. Console balconies surround the upper level, but the view from them is limited by safety nets.

On each level, there's a small plaque carved with the year of the level's development. The guide explained how the salt mines evolved over the years. Initially, a small shaft was drilled up to about 15 meters deep on the surface. If salt was found in the passage, then a second control hole would be opened a few meters away. In a successful scenario, the hole would widen, and two vertical ladders would descend. We saw two holes in the ceiling. These were the original shafts that later formed the mine. By looking closely, you can see horizontal lines on the walls of each level and trace the centuries-old formation history of the dome.

At the lower level of the Rudolf Mine, you'll find the main entertainment hub of the complex. There's a playground, mini-golf, a photo gallery, billiards, table tennis, a football field, a bowling alley, and even an amphitheater. While it may be empty on normal days, sometimes concerts are held here, groups put on performances, or seminars are conducted. Overall, everything your heart desires can be found in the mine.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot to mention something; I want to talk about the amusement park. Imagine this! Romanians managed to build a full-fledged amusement park here. Just think about the effort it took to drag all of this entertainment park through these narrow corridors and staircases underground. I salute the engineers who thought all of this out! After being here, you start to understand why Salina Turda is listed as one of Romania's wonders of the world. It's truly a well-deserved accolade.

And there's also a souvenir center where you can buy magnets, keychains, or perhaps bath salts or other commemorative knick-knacks, so you can remember the unforgettable feelings experienced during your travels while relaxing at home. You can easily pay by debit card for underground souvenirs. And if you want to take a ride on a wheel, they'll get you a ticket to go up. (that's a bit sad) But aside from the attractions, there's another interesting spot in the Rudolf mine, a balcony. A balcony underground? To a deeper mine. And the view from below was breathtaking. At the bottom of the neighboring Theresia Mine, a real underground lake awaited us.

The formation of the balcony here was no coincidence. Rudolf and Theresia are two adjacent mines within the complex that were supposed to merge and become a single shared space long ago, but due to the abandonment of salt mining, the mines remained at different heights, and now you can directly observe the beauty of the underground lake from the Rudolf mine. There are two more ways to descend; an elevator and stairs. The stairs here are shorter, so I recommend stretching your legs :) Indeed, it was quite narrow here, but a beautiful place awaited us below.

This was the oldest and deepest mine in the Salina Turda complex, with a depth of 112 meters, and at its bottom formed a unique salt lake, about 6 meters deep and covering approximately 80% of the mine's surface. There was a cute little island in the middle of the lake, so the mine took on the shape of a donut. We thought perhaps it was the creation of the designers who planned the local amusement park, but that wasn't the case. The island formed naturally over time. When the mine was closed in 1880, large amounts of salt extracted from the mine were still stored at the bottom. Bringing the salt to the surface was deemed impractical and was discarded there. During the 150 years of neglect, the moisture in the mine's air condensed on the ceiling over time, dripping down to form the lake, and an island formed from the abandoned salt residues. To allow guests easy access to the island in the neighboring Rudolf mine, an elevator shaft was excavated to the height of the island and then connected to it with a beautiful wooden bridge.

Several entertainment options are offered to tourists in the mine. The first and most enjoyable is taking a boat ride on the underground lake. Renting a boat for three people for 20 minutes will cost you about 6 euros, and I highly recommend doing it. Rowing a boat at such depth brings back unique childhood feelings. It's genuinely fun entertainment. Remember not only can all the fun be captured on camera but it can also be instantly uploaded on the web. At a depth of 100 meters underground, a lake, a boat, oars, and Wi-Fi :)

As we passed under the bridge, I noticed a small platform on the mine wall, and everyone wondered what it was for. It turned out that it was built in 2020 by the Red Bull team to set a world record for the "first underground dive in world history."

Sometimes, explosions were heard along the mine because salt mining was carried out in parallel in neighboring mines. Well, considering there have been earthquakes in Romania, you can understand where my concern came from. What bothered me wasn't just those sounds. Even a regular speaker felt a bit eerie here in the mine. It was definitely like a space station, and it was time to get out of here. Once again, the speaker hinted vaguely that the mine would soon be closing and it was time for us to set sail.

So, it's time to end the journey. I heartily recommend this unusual journey, even when traveling with your family. The incredible atmosphere of the underground amusement park in the mine will surely stay in your mind for a long time, especially being decorated in such a futuristic style. Salina Turda has become one of Romania's symbols. It has become a very popular tourist attraction, visited by about a million tourists annually, and it definitely deserves to be listed as one of the world's most beautiful places. I recommend you to visit. You won't regret it!