The valley of Oltet river develop in the Jurassic limestones from the South of Parâng Mountains and of Cãpãtânii Mountains a very abrupt relief about 200-300 m, which shelter the beautiful Oltet Gorges and the renowed cave Polovragi - well known tourist objectives.

The Oltet Gorges, with parallel walls, at 3-4 m distance in the lower part and 10-20 m in the upper part, let pass only a little light, but one can see many erosion levels, with many caves, most of them inaccessible.

The biggest and the most interesting of the caves from Oltet river is The cave of Pahomie from Polovragi, cut in the left side of the gorges at 20 m from the thalweg and 200 m from the entrance.

It is a long cave, over 9000 m, having the main gallery mostly horizontal from which starts some lateral galleries most of all clogged by alluvia. Along the gallery three sectors are distinct. First till the Gallery of the Pillar, and starts with two little side galleries the important one being the right one named Bats Gallery. The electrified gallery continues with 2-8 m height and around 10 m width. There are frequent falls, flows from the ceiling, chimneys; here are opening little secondary galleries adorned with lime.

The map of the cave

The ogiva sector, bordered by the Pillar Gallery and the Suffocated Gallery, starts at approximately 400 m from the entrance. Have the same width, but its height vary from 0.5 to 2 m. Concretion rate is reducing. The last sector, the Suffocated Gallery at the Northern end of the gallery continues the cave till a clogged whirlpool. Here the height and the width are reduced, and the stalagmite formations are more frequent at the end of the sector. The cave is relatively warm, wet and without air currents. The biospeleology of the cave is not very interesting, having a poor fauna and single troglobiont specie: Trachysphera spelaea. The cave is interesting especially from geomorphologic and landscape point of view.

Views from the cave

The Oltet Gorges zone is very interesting because of the landscape and of its flora. On the little soil formed among the limestones are growing the beech, the maple, the hornbeam, the elm, the hazel etc. Here are over 300 species of plants characteristic to the limestone soil. There is also a very old forest of sweet chestnut-trees and a narcissus clearing only at 4 km South from the gorges.

Last update: 1999, August 20
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